Big Time Bonding
by Baxxie
Summary: All the boys do lately is fight. To get them working like a team again, Gustavo orders them to go on a camping trip. Soon things go horribly wrong. They will have to work together or they might not survive...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Studio Brawl

It's another day in the studio and the boys are driving Gustavo insane. Lately all they do is fight. They hardly hang out together anymore and are getting on everyone's nerves.

'Dogs! Stop messing up the words. This is a song about friendship, it's fun. So HAVE FUN!' The boys roll their eyes and start to sing again.

Gustavo looks at Kelly, who also looks a little lost at the monotone voices coming from the booth.

'What is wrong with them? Normally I can't get them to be serious, now they can't have fun together.'

'I don't know. Lately they seem a little distracted, when they're not fighting that is…' Kelly mentions the last part as Kendall gets into another argument with James.

'You have to stop doing that, it's my line!' Kendall shouts at James.

'You have enough lines, let the rest of us have some!' he shouts back.

'Guys, stop fighting!'

'Shut up, Carlos!' They yell in unison.

'Don't tell him to shut up. Just stop fighting, so we can finish this song. Camille is waiting for me.' Logan adds.

'Oh my god, I am so sick of hearing about Camille. Lately you only spend time with her!' Carlos adds, sounding very annoyed.

'DOGS! Everyone stop fighting!' They all stop, looking very angry and their arms crossed over their chest. 'Good. Now can everyone just focus for three minutes and FINISH THE SONG!' Gustavo lets go of the speaker button again and starts the song once again.

Everything seems to go fine, when Carlos drinks some water and accidentally spills it on James.

'Okay, that is it! I've had enough of this. Why are you always this clumsy? Now I have to go dry this shirt again.' Carlos just rolls his eyes at James' outburst.

'James, it's just a shirt! Get over it!' Kendall tells him.

'Get over it? No, he always does this. All this time in the studio and he still has no sense of direction. He has hit his head so many times, despite that stupid helmet, that I think he has no brain cells left in him.' Carlos looks very angry and attacks James, who fights back.

'Guys, stop!' Logan tries to pull them apart, when James accidentally lands a punch on him. Now Kendall gets angry and joins in. Soon all four BTR guys are fighting. Gustavo bangs his head on the sound desk.

'DOGS!' They stop fighting at Gustavo's yell in their headphones.

'WHAT?' They yell back. Gustavo starts to shake.

'Alright, that is it!'

'Gustavo, calm down.' Kelly tries.

'No, I am sick of this. I am trying to record hit records here. And you are all preventing me from it with your attitude. So; GET OUT!' The boys don't waste another second and storm out of the sound booth, all heading a different way.

'Great, how are we supposed to record the song now?' Kelly asks.

'We don't.' Gustavo responds.

'What? You know Griffin is waiting for a new song.'

'Well, I don't care. I am sick of all the bickering. Just go find the dogs and fix them!'

'What? But Gustavo..' Kelly starts as he starts to walk out the door.

'NOW!' He yells, making her cover her ears. She sighs heavily and heads to Palmwoods.

_Hi! Here's another story from me on BTR. I know the beginning is a little vague, but I want to keep the chapters short. So find out what is going on in the next chapter. Also, any suggestions for the story or any other story are welcome! Thank you for reading and please review _

_Love, Baxxie_


	2. Chapter 2 Storm Clouds

Chapter 2 Storm Clouds

All day long, the boys have been apart from one and other. Now it's dinner time, which has them all showing up at the apartment. They glare at each other, but sit at the already made table anyway.

Katie and Mrs. Knight look between the boys as they eat dinner in silence.

'So, how was recording today?' Mrs. Knight asks.

'Fine.' Kendall replies.

'You fought during the recording again, didn't you?'

'Katie!' Mrs. Knight warns.

'Well, it's true, isn't it? It's all they ever do lately.' No one responds.

Then accidentally, Carlos spills his milk James's plate. James jumps up from the table.

'You just do this on purpose, don't you? Just to annoy me.' He accuses Carlos.

'Why yes, James. In all my years of being accident prone, I've decided to dedicate all my accidents to you now.' He sarcastically responds. Kendall snickers.

'Oh, you think this is funny?' James asks Kendall. He just laughs and shakes his head. 'Well, let's see how you think about this.' He throws some mashed potatoes on Kendall, who ducks, making it land on Logan.

'Boys! No food fights!' Mrs. Knight warns. All boys sit down again and start eating.

Then, Carlos tries to grab the salt, knocking over his glass of milk, which now lands fully in James' lap.

'Oh, that's it!' He jumps out of his seat and attacks Carlos, both of them landing on the floor with a loud thud. They struggle in each other's grasps.

'Boys! No fighting during dinner!' Both guys stand up, glaring at each other, breathing heavily.

'Accident prone, my ass. These are my favorite jeans, you've just been waiting to ruin them, because you wanted them too.'

'Oh, yeah, that's my life long mission, James. To ruin all of your clothes, because I'm jealous. It was an accident!' Carlos yells at him. 'Get over it!'

'That was not an accident! Maybe the first time it was, but the second time, you were just aiming for it.'

'Just leave him alone, James. You know how he is.' Logan responds.

'What is that supposed to mean?' Carlos asks him.

'He means, you're an idiot, Carlos.'

'I am not an idiot!'

'Oh, yeah you are, it's a no brainer. Like you!' James adds. Carlos takes James into a headlock.

'Take it back!' James struggles for him t let go.

'Carlos, get off him.'

'Take it back!'

'Carlos!' Kendall now jumps up and pushes Carlos off James. But as soon as he does, James attacks Carlos.

Pretty soon all three boys are fighting on the floor. It doesn't take long before Logan becomes involved, when he wants to break them apart.

In the hallway, Kelly and Gustavo are walking towards apartment 2J, when they hear familiar screaming. They shake their heads and head for the door.

Mrs. Knight tries to yell at the boys to stop, but they are no longer listening.

'DOGS! Break it up, NOW!' It takes the force of Gustavo, Kelly and Mrs Knight to break the boys apart. All are panting heavily, still very angry.

'Go sit!' Gustavo orders them, pointing to the couch. All four boys sit down, trying to stare each other down.

'This is exactly why I came here. Lately all you pups keep doing is fight. And I am tired of hearing it. Griffin is breathing down my neck for new songs, which we can't record, because you can't work together anymore. Kelly suggested we should talk to you. But, I don't think that's going to work. So here is my suggestion: I am ordering you to go on a camping trip.'

'What? No way!' Multiple protests are heard all around the room.

'I wasn't asking you! The four of you are going to head to a camping ground first thing tomorrow. And: you will not come back until you can work as a team again!'

'You can't do this. You can't just decide for us to go camping together!'

'Actually, I can. Because if you don't, there will be no more Big Time Rush. So: YOU ARE GOING!' He gets up and heads for the door with Kelly in tow.

'Kelly, you have to stop him..' Kendall asks her.

'Sorry guys, you didn't give us another choice. Until you stop fighting and work as a team, the band is over. A car will drop off some camping gear tomorrow morning along with a rental car and a map. Good luck, guys.'

Mrs. Knight and Katie try to hide their smiles. Even though Mrs. Knight is worried to leave them by themselves like this, she knows it's for the best. The guys just groan and argue yet again. But this time they at least agree on something; no one wants to go camping!

_Next chapter the adventure finally begins. What dangers will lie in store for the boys? If you have any suggestions, let me know!_

_Thanks for reading and remember to review _

_Love, Baxxie_


	3. Chapter 3 Road Trip

Chapter 3 Road Trip

The following day, the boys reluctantly head outside with bags packed. They find an old Stationwagon waiting for them, filled with camping gear. They groan and try to head back inside, when Mrs. Knight stands behind them, arms crossed and shaking her head no.

They sigh and get inside the Stationwagon, which creaks ferociously as they sit down. Kendall gets in front of the wheel and starts the car, which makes explosion sounds, before starting up.

'Okay, so where are we heading?' Kendall asks Logan, who sits beside him. Logan looks through the glove compartment, finding a map stored in it along with a compass. The map shows a drawn trail, heading to a circled open ground.

'Well, I guess we just follow the map?'

_An hour later…_

'Well, now what do we do?' The boys are standing next to the road. The car stands beside them, engine smoking.

'Logan, how far is it to the camping ground?' Logan checks the map again.

'I think we can walk there in about ten minutes.'

'Oh. Well, let's just take as much stuff as we can and head over there.' Kendall suggests.

'What? We're supposed to carry all of this stuff? Do you know how heavy this is?' James complains. They all look at the back of the car, crammed with bags.

'We don't have a choice. Let's just take the things we really need and start walking.'

The boys each grab a military camping bag on their back, grabbing another bag in their hand. Carlos bounces in front, staying energized, while the others lag behind.

_Half an hour later…_

The boys are finally in the woods, without a camping ground in sight.

'Hey guys; 1,2' Carlos shouts, waiting for the others to repeat after him. They don't. He looks behind him, seeing three annoyed faces looking back. 'Okay, fine, don't sing along. Yankee Doodle went to town..' He starts singing out loud.

'How is he staying so upbeat? My back is killing me.' James complains.

'I thought you said ten minutes, Logan.' Kendall adds.

'Well, I think I read the map wrong, like the other way round.'

'Logan!' Logan smiles apologetically. 'So, are you saying we're lost now?'

'No, I just have to read the map again.' Kendall groans as Logan takes out the map and starts to read it again.

'Hey, guys!' Carlos shouts from somewhere. Kendall looks around.

'Carlos?'

'Over here! I think I found the camping ground!' He shouts again. James and Kendall shrug and head for Carlos' voice.

They find him in an open space with fallen trees and a rotting picnic table. They let their bags drop to the ground and look around with raised eyebrows.

'This is the camping ground?' Kendall asks.

'It looks like no one has been here in years.'

'Hey, where's Logan?' Carlos asks. As if on cue, a yell is heard. The boys run towards the voice, finding Logan on the ground, holding his side in pain.

'What happened?' Kendall asks while he and James help Logan up.

'I was reading the map and trying to walk, so I guess I tripped over a rock. I landed on another rock with my side. It was really sharp, I think it nicked my skin.' He carefully lifts up his own shirt, hissing at the pain and revealing a deep scratch.

'Oeh, that looks painful. Carlos, get the first aid kit.' Carlos takes off, while James and Kendall help Logan to the campground.

'Wow, Logan, I think you've been spending too much time with Carlos. I mean, I would have expected him to do this, but you're supposed to be the smart one.' James laughs at his own remark.

Then he looks ahead, finding Carlos looking at him angrily. James shrugs as they help Logan sit on a tree stump. Carlos sits on his knees and starts to help Logan clean up the wound with the first aid kit.

'I'm going to grab some food, anyone else a sandwich?' Kendall asks. Three agreeing replies are heard. He goes to search the military bag Carlos carried, which has the food stored. He opens the bag, looking confused.

'Carlos, weren't you carrying the bag with food?' he asks, taking the bag and dropping it in front of him.

'Uhm, yeah, why?'

'Then where is the food?' Carlos gets up from his knees and looks in the bag.

'Wait, what?' He takes out a hair dryer. 'But there was food in here! I swear it was!' Then, Kendall sees James trying to avoid looking at the bag.

'James, why are there hair products in that bag?'

'Uhm, well, there was more room in that bag than in mine. So, I put my hair products in that one.'

'And where were you thinking of plugging in a hair dryer?' He adds, while walking towards James, who walks backwards.

'I uhm, I..'

'Where is the food, James?'

'I put it in my bag, the blue one.' He says while glancing at all the bags. 'Which I didn't bring…'

'You left the food in the car? Are you out of your mind! I told you to take all the things we really needed!' kendall screams at James.

'I do need those things! Do you have any idea what it takes to look this good?'

'And you don't think we need food?'

Meanwhile, Carlos searches the other bags for food, while Logan sits on the tree stump, slowly dropping his head and becoming pale.

'Carlos..' He quietly asks. Carlos looks up and races to Logan.

'Logan? Are you okay?'

'I don't feel so good…' Carlos gives him a concerned look when his face becomes even more pale. He glances towards the other two bickering.

'Uhm, guys?'

'Shut up, Carlos!' They shout in unison.

'I can't believe you left all the food in the car!'

'Oh, come on, Kendall. It's in the car, meaning we can go back and get it!'

'That's like half an hour away, James! But, I guess since you left it there, you can go and get it!'

'Oh, I don't think so. You..'

'Guys!' Carlos shouts again.

'What?' They shout back, but stop, when they see Logan holding his head in his hands.

'I think Logan is sick.' They watch as he slumps down, Carlos holding onto him.

_And the camping has begun! The first problems have started, but there are many more to come! Remember, please review if you read the story and add any suggestions if you want to _

_Love, Baxxie_


	4. Chapter 4 Rolling Around

Chapter 4 Rolling Around

It's been a few minutes since the boys noticed Logan being sick and all of their food to be left in the car. Kendall has started to search for a cell phone to call for help, while James is getting ready to head to the car.

'Guys, I can't find any of our cell phones. I thought we brought them with us?'

'They're probably in the car somewhere. I'll see if I can find them.' James adds, strapping up his bag.

'I still don't think it's a good idea for you to go back alone.' Carlos tells him. 'What if something happens?'

'Nothing is going to happen, Carlos. We're alone out here and I can take care of myself.'

'Right.' Carlos answers back.

'You know what? Carlos is right. Maybe you shouldn't go alone. I'll come with you. Between the two of us we can carry more stuff anyway.' Kendall suggests.

'If you want to.' James adds as he starts to walk with the map in hand. Kendall sighs, but follows him.

'Carlos, we'll hopefully be back in an hour. Try not to get into trouble and take care of Logan.' Carlos looks annoyed at the remark, but nods.

When the two are gone, he grabs a sleeping bag and puts it down with a pillow. He then helps Logan into it.

'No, I don't need to lie down. I'm fine.'

'You're not fine, Logan. Just lie down. I'll get started on putting up the tents.' Logan reluctantly lies down in the sleeping bag.

'By yourself? Maybe you should wait for Kendall and James to come back.'

'I can do it, Logan. I can actually do things myself!' Carlos tells him.

'That's not what I meant…' Logan starts, but Carlos has turned his back towards him and is unpacking the tents, ignoring him.

_An hour later…_

'I thought you said to take a left turn here.' Kendall complains.

'Yeah, that's what the map says.'

'James, it's been forever. We haven't found the car, we haven't even found a way out of these woods yet. Give me the map.' He tries to take the map, from James, who pulls away.

'No, I can read it.' Kendall sighs.

'James, give me the map.'

'No!'

'Give me the stupid map!' Kendall takes one end of the map. They start a tugging war and soon the inevitable happens, the map rips in half.

'Now look what you did!' James accuses.

'Me? If you had just given me the map in the first place, none of this would have happened!' Kendall shouts back.

'Oh, so now this is my fault? Maybe if you had been a good leader, we wouldn't be out here at all.'

'What is that supposed to mean?'

'It means you haven't been leading this group like you should have. Gustavo keeps giving you the responsibility and you suck at it!' James pushes Kendall, who gasps.

'Oh, that's it!' He jumps on James and they wrestle to the ground. Suddenly they are moving on their own. They didn't notice the hill they were standing on and are now rolling down painfully as they graze rocks and bump into fallen trees.

Kendall then notices they are heading straight for a river. He grabs hold of a fallen tree and comes to a sudden stop.

'James, watch out!' James is still rolling fast, before hitting his head painfully on a large rock. Dazed, he doesn't see where he is going and can't stop, resulting in him falling into the river.

The current is very strong, pulling James with it. Not to mention the bag he is wearing is weighing him down heavily, making it difficult to keep his head above the water.

'Kendall, help!' He asks, before disappearing under water. Kendall's eyes are wide as he sees his friend moving through the water fast. He jumps up and sees one tree with a branch hanging over the water. He quickly gets on it and waits for James to move towards him. He reaches down as low as he can, holding out his hand.

'James! Grab my hand!' James looks up and tries to reach, but then a wave of water makes him go underwater again.

Kendall tries to go lower, suddenly hearing creaking below him. He ignores it and reaches for James again.

'James, grab my…' He starts, before the branch he is on breaks. He screams as he too falls into the water. The heavy current drags him along as he comes up for air.

'James! Try to grab something!' He looks around, searching for James. He sees him right in front of him, going down again.

'James, lose the bag!' James faintly hears him and tries to get rid of the bag. As it finally loosens, James feels a lot lighter. But as the bag goes down, his foot is caught in one of the straps, dragging him down to the bottom.

Kendall is scared when he sees his friend go underwater and not come up.

James fights the strap underwater. As he finally gets his foot out and almost reaches the top, a branch falls into the water, landing on his head. He loses consciousness, floating freely in the water.

'James!' Kendall screams for his friend as he sees him coming up, out cold. 'Someone help! Help us!'

_Meanwhile back at the campsite…_

Logan watches with interest as Carlos sets up the two tents with ease. His eyes are scrunched in concentration. He swears as one of the poles falls down again.

'Let me help you.' Logan offers and starts to get up.

'No! I can do this. Just stay down there and get better.' Carlos warns him in a stern voice. Logan is confused at his tone of voice, but listens quickly as a dizzy spell washes over him.

Suddenly he hears a faint cry in the distance.

'What was that?'

'What was what?' Carlos asks him. Another cry.

'That.' Logan mentions.

They listen and faintly hear someone crying out for help. Then their eyes widen.

'Kendall!' Logan tries to get up again.

'No, Logan. I'm going.'

'Carlos, if they're in trouble..' Carlos walks up to him.

'Stay here, Logan!' He says it in such a hard voice, that Logan immediately lies back down. Carlos makes a run for it, trying to listen where the sounds came from.

After running through the woods a while, tripping over some branches, Carlos reaches the sounds of a raging river. The cries are louder. He runs faster and then finally reaches the river.

He searches the water, suddenly seeing Kendall, who is trying to hold an unconscious James above the water.

'Kendall, hold on!' He tries to find anything to hold onto and reach out for them. He panics as he can't find anything. He does the only thing he can do and prepares to jump into the water.

'Carlos, no!' Kendall shouts as he sees Carlos jumping in. There goes their final chance at being saved.

Carlos tries to swim against the current, using his skills as a certified rescue diver. He looks around and sees some branches, which are armed around a thick tree next to the water. He makes a swim towards it. He is almost there when the waves crash him into the rocks on the side. He screams out in pain, as he painfully hits the sharp edges with his back, heading his head with a thud. He shakes his head to clear his vision and tries to reach the vines.

Kendall's arms are getting tired. The weight of James is pulling him underwater. He tries to look for Carlos, but panics, as he can't find him. James pulls him under again. He swallows a handful of water and coughs as comes above again. But his body is slowly shutting down on him. He tries hard to fight it, but his vision starts to darken. Right before he loses consciousness he becomes aware of losing the weight holding him down and then two arms grabbing him before he can reach the bottom.

_More trouble has started for the boys. Will they make it? Read and review to find out!_

_Thank you and love, Baxxie_


	5. Chapter 5 Friendly Fire?

Chapter 5 Friendly Fire?

Kendall groans as he slowly starts to wake up. He feels dizzy and worn-out. But he is surprised to be feeling warm and covered. He opens his eyes, hoping it was all a dream and he is sleeping in his bed.

But unfortunately he finds himself lying in a sleeping bag in a tent. He slowly gets up and looks around in confusion. He finds James lying next to him, still asleep. The memories of what happened come back as he checks to see if James is breathing. He sighs in relief when he hears a soft snore coming from his friend.

He softly gets up and quietly moves out of the tent, careful as not to wake James. Outside of the tent, he finds a small fire and Logan sitting on a log warming his hands to it, covered with a sleeping bag.

'Hey, look who's awake.' Logan smiles at him.

'You look like you're feeling better.' Kendall replies.

'I guess so. How do you feel?' Logan asks as Kendall comes to sit beside him.

'I'm okay.' He replies, not looking Logan in the eye. Logan raises his eyebrows. 'What? I am.'

Logan sighs. 'How's James?'

'He's sleeping. Did he wake up before?' Logan shakes his head.

'No, neither of you did. I have to say, I've never been so scared. I mean Carlos and I heard you screaming, so he ran off and ordered me to stay here and…'

'Wait, Carlos ordered you?' Kendall interjects.

'Yeah, I know. I was just as shocked. Anyway, all I could do was sit and wait for him to come back. It seemed to take forever, until I finally saw him. I was hoping you guys would follow. So to see him carrying both of you, completely out cold and soaked to the bone…' He shudders at the memory. 'You looked so pale.. I was really scared…' Kendall doesn't respond. Logan looks at him and sees he is deep in thought. 'Kendall?'

Kendall snaps out of it after hearing his name.

'Huh?' He sees Logan watching him with concerned eyes. 'Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about what you said. You're saying Carlos saved both of us?' Logan just nods.

'Yeah, I'm guessing he jumped in after you, since he was soaked as well. His eyes were all wide, but I've never seen him look so determined, you know. It was weird. Then I helped him put dry clothes on you guys and..'

'Whoa, back up. You undressed us?' Kendall asks wide-eyed.

'Well, we had to. You couldn't stay in wet clothes or would you like to get pneumonia?'

'No, of course not. It's just, weird, I guess..'

'What's so weird about it? We share a dressing room and an apartment. We always showered together after hockey practice.'

'Well, yeah, but we were conscious those times.'

'Whatever Kendall, my point is, you're alive and warm now. All thanks to Carlos.' Kendall grows quiet again.

'Yeah. I still can't believe it was Carlos. I mean I know he's a good swimmer and all, but it's still Carlos we're talking about here.' He chuckles a little.

'Why are you selling him short?'

'Because he is short.' Kendall states, trying to make a joke. Logan doesn't laugh. 'Come on, it's Carlos, Carlitos. He runs into walls voluntarily and he wears a helmet for no reason.'

'He wasn't wearing a helmet when he saved your lives.' Logan tells him.

'I know, all right. I know he saved our lives and I am forever grateful. But you have to admit, he's not the first person you would think of calling when you need help.'

'He's a certified scuba rescue diver! In this case he is the only person I would call!' Logan shouts, getting angry and getting up from the log.

'But in any other case?' Kendall asks him. Logan doesn't respond, he just sighs. 'Face it, Logan. You wouldn't, because in our group, you are the smart one, I am the responsible leader, James is the pretty one and Carlos is, well, the crazy one.'

'Wait, you're the responsible leader?' Logan asks with a laugh. 'You're kidding right? If you are so responsible, why did you need to be rescued in the first place? How did you fall into that river, Kendall?'

'That's not the point!'

'Actually, it is. If you were such a good leader, we wouldn't even be here right now. Maybe if you had been a leader, we wouldn't be fighting all the time. As a leader you're supposed to keep this group together and pay attention to everyone. You wouldn't be doubting the maturity of the one person who saved your life!' Logan yells.

'Excuse me for doubting the person who manages to run into a wall, eat 20 corndogs before getting sick and then tripping over his own two feet, resulting in breaking down an entire set for our last video shoot! All in one day! I'm sorry to say this, but how can I not doubt his maturity or intelligence for that matter!' Logan is no longer looking at Kendall now, rather than at something or someone behind him. Kendall turns around and instantly regrets all of his words, when he sees Carlos standing there, with obvious pain in his eyes.

'I just came to get my helmet.' He says in an almost whisper, with the helmet in his hands.

'Carlos, I…' Kendall starts.

'No, Kendall. You're right. I'm not mature or smart. I wouldn't call me either when I need help.'

'I didn't mean that… I..' Kendall tries again.

'Save it. I'm going back to bed. Goodnight Logan.' Carlos quietly adds, hurt evident in his voice, purposely not saying goodnight to Kendall. Then he turns around and gets back into the other tent.

Kendall sighs. 'Thanks for saving my life…' He quietly adds. Then he turns around, coming face to face with a very angry looking Logan. 'What?'

Logan shakes his head. 'A good and responsible leader is what you said, right? Wow, Kendall. A few weeks ago, I would have agreed with you. But lately you're nothing but a selfish jerk. Great job, leader.' Logan spats out the last word, before heading to the same tent Carlos disappeared into.

Kendall doesn't follow. He just sighs in frustration and heads to the other tent.

This was going to be a long trip…

_Hm, why did Kendall start that argument? All will be revealed later, so please read and review _

_Thank you and love, Baxxie_


	6. Chapter 6 No Contact

Chapter 6 No Contact

The next day, Kendall awakes to screaming. He rushes out of the tent.

'What happened?' He sees James is the one screaming as he runs around the campsite, looking through the bags.

'What's going on?' Asks a sleepy Logan from the other tent. James just keeps screaming and running around.

'What's with the screaming?' Carlos asks, also sounding sleepy, still wearing his helmet. As soon as Kendall looks him in the eye, he looks away.

Kendall has had enough and walks towards James.

'James. James!' He grabs him and slaps him in the face. Logan and Carlos wince at the sound.

James finally stops screaming and looks at Kendall.

'Camille?'

'No, moron, it's me, Kendall.'

'Oh, so this is all real? We're not at Palmwoods?' Kendall just shakes his head. He glances at the other two, they also shake their heads. James screams again. So Kendall slaps him again.

'Stop screaming, get a hold of yourself.'

'I just need to find my bag and I'll be alright.' He starts to search all the bags again.

'You mean the military bag you were carrying yesterday?' Kendall carefully starts.

'Yeah, have you seen it? I really need those products. I don't care if you think it's stupid, I need it.'

'Uhm, James? You were carrying that bag when we fell into the river yesterday, remember?'

'I.. I was?'

'Yeah. And you had to take it off, because you almost drowned because of it.'

'But I need that bag…'

'James, we almost drowned yesterday. I think that's a little more important than a bag full of beauty products, don't you?' Kendall reminds him, holding his shoulders and slowly guiding him to sit on a log by the fire. James quietly nods. 'Now just sit here and relax. You hit your head pretty hard yesterday, so just take it easy.'

'So, how did we survive?'

'Carlos saved us.'

'He did?' James looks surprised. Then he looks at Carlos, walking up to him and giving him a tight hug. Carlos winces as James touches his back. 'Thank you.'

'Uh, James? I can't breathe.' Carlos pronounces. James quickly lets go.

'Uh, when you were saving us, did you happen to grab the bag I was carrying?' James asks with hope in his eyes.

'Uh, sorry, no. I was a little busy carrying you and Kendall.' Carlos tells him.

'Right, I guess you were.' James looks disappointed and goes to sit down again. Carlos starts to look guilty.

'Oh, alright. I'll go back to the river and see if I can find it.'

James runs up to Carlos again with a big smile, opening his arms for another hug. Carlos stops him.

'Yes, I know, you're grateful.' He says with a chuckle and starts to walk away.

'Carlos, wait. I'll go with you.' Logan adds, running after him.

Kendall scowls at James.

'What? I need that bag.' Kendall shakes his head with a smirk.

'If it were anybody else, I would think this is just your concussion talking. But it is you, so I guess things are back to normal.' James playfully punches Kendall as he laughs.

'Uh, guys? A little help here.' They turn around to find Carlos trying to keep Logan straight, who leans heavily on his shoulders. They quickly get up and take Logan over from him.

'What happened?' Kendall asks in concern as they lie Logan down carefully in his tent.

'I'm fine.' Logan's groggy voice answers.

'No, you're not. We were trying to look for James' bag. I turn around for one second and he faints. I knew you weren't fine.'

'I am, I just got a little dizzy, that's all.' Logan adds, trying to sit up. He quickly is stopped by three sets of hands. Kendall puts a hand on his forehead.

'I think he's got a fever.'

'Guys, I'm fine.' Logan tries again.

'We should probably get him some water. James, could you go find a bottle of water?' Kendall tells them, completely ignoring Logan's protests. 'Just stay down, Logan, we'll get you better in no time.'

A few hours later, Kendall and James sit by the fire, boiling water, when Carlos comes out of the woods carrying fish.

'Wow, Carlos, you caught all of those?' James asks.

'No, James, I just stood on the side and they jumped into my arms.' He adds sarcastically.

'I just asked…' Kendall stops him by holding up his hand. They watch in silence as Carlos starts to put the fish on a stick.

'So, how's Logan?' Carlos asks without looking up from his stick.

'He's sleeping. He probably caught a bug, he'll be better in no time.' Kendall answers.

Just then, they see Logan hurrying out of the tent, holding a hand in front of his mouth. He runs towards some bushes, where he drops to his knees and starts to throw up.

James and Carlos stare at Kendall.

'You were saying?' James asks. Kendall sighs and gets up.

'I'll go. You guys finish making dinner.' He heads to Logan and after he is done, helps him get up and back to the tent.

'You think he'll be okay?' James asks.

'He better be, 'cause I don't think we're getting out of here anytime soon.'

Kendall steps out of the tent, two pair of concerned eyes follow him.

'He's sleeping again. So how's dinner?' James tastes the cooked fish and scrunches up his face in disgust. Kendall sighs. 'Looks tasty.' He adds sarcastically.

'Okay, that is it. Let's just grab a cell phone and call your mom to pick us up.' James suggests, getting up to start looking for a cell phone. Kendall stops him.

'No, we don't need their help. We can do this. We promised we could do this on our own and we can. We just need to figure out how.' He states.

'I'm going to get my sleeping bag, it's starting to get cold out here.' Carlos tells the other, before getting up and heading into his tent.

Logan and James try to taste dinner again, but the smell makes them want to hurl.

'Guys!' Carlos' shout comes from the tent. They run towards it. Inside sits Carlos, looking terrified at Logan, who lays in the sleeping bag, white as a sheet, beads of sweat all over his face.

'Okay, now can we call for help?' James asks.

Kendall sighs, but then nods. James heads out and searches their bags for his cell phone.

'Got it!' He shouts to the others. He tries to dial, but nothing happens. He hits it a couple of times, before turning it over. 'Uhm, I think my battery is dead.'

'What?' Kendall asks and heads outside. 'Here, just use my phone.' He hands his cell phone to James, who tries it.

'Uh, yeah, this one isn't working either.'

'That's not possible. I charged it before we left.' He states, before slapping a hand on his forehead. 'I meant I wanted to charge it. I guess I forgot. Carlos, can we use your cell phone?' He shouts to the tent.

'I didn't bring mine.' He shouts back.

'What do you mean you didn't bring yours?'

'It broke.'

'How?'

'I accidentally threw it down the stairs.'

'What?' Kendall asks in confusion.

'The warranty said it was really solid and could take any hit. So I tested it. I guess they lied.'

Kendall sighs.

'Now what do we do?' James asks impatiently.

'Well, we don't even have to look for Logan's phone, because Camille took it from him.' James looks confused. 'Don't ask.'

'So?' James asks again.

'I guess we should try to get home ourselves. Tomorrow we can try to look for the car again. And this time, we all go.' He adds as both of them shoot concerned glances at Logan's tent.

_Yes, more problems arise. What will happen next? Besides Logan, what ideas do you have for the other guys? No one will come out this unharmed ;)_

_Thanks again for the reviews and until the next chapter!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	7. Chapter 7 Teddy

Chapter 7 Teddy

The rest of the day, the boys took turns in sitting with Logan, while starting to pack up their stuff. They planned to leave the next morning. When the sun came up, James awoke to a strange sound coming from outside. When he peaked his head out of his tent, his eyes widened.

He quickly moved to Kendall and started to shake him.

"Kendall, wake up." He whispered with fear in his voice. Kendall just moaned and swatted his hand away. "Come on, you have to wake up."

"What is it?" Kendall quietly asks without opening his eyes.

"There is a bear outside."

"You woke me up for that, just go back to…" Kendall started, before shooting up, wide awake. "There's a bear outside?" He asks. He now also pokes his head out of their tent and watches as a large brown bear is sniffing around their camp. Kendall watches in fear as he starts to sniff around Logan and Carlos' tent.

"Oh my god… What are we going to do?" James asks, slightly panicking.

"We have to get him away from that tent, right now…" Kendall starts, before moving outside.

"What are you doing? Are you insane, you can't go out there!" James warns him in a whisper.

"I have to, he might hurt Logan and Carlos." Kendall adds. Then he grabs a rock and throws it at the bear. "Hey, teddy. Over here!"

"Kendall, stop!" James warns him again.

Kendall keeps taunting the bar, throwing rocks at him and making a lot of noise. The noise awakes Carlos, who rubs his eyes and quietly goes to see what is causing all the noise. He pokes his head out his tent and then panics, when he comes face to face with a very large brown bear.

"Come on, teddy. There aren't any treats in there, come over here!" Kendall yells. Finally the bear starts to turn around.

Kendall smiles and keeps shouting at him. "Yeah, that's right. Just come over here."

Carlos looks on in fear as the bear roars and starts to head towards Kendall.

"Kendall, don't move, I'm coming!" Carlos shouts at him. Then he moves into his tent and grabs his helmet. He puts it on and slaps it, before heading out of the tent. He gets ready to run, head first.

"No, Carlos! Stay there. I'm going to lure him away from you guys. You just start packing with James. That way we can leave the minute I get back."

"Kendall, no. I can help you. Just don't move!" Carlos gets ready again.

"I don't need your help, Carlos!" Kendall yells at him as he starts to walk backwards.

"But.." He starts, but James puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's just do what he says, Carlos."

"What? You can't be serious James. There is a bear after him. We can't just let him go by himself." He says and starts to run into the direction Kendall and the bear went.

"Carlos!" James kicks a rock in frustration, then holding his foot in pain. He wants to go after them, but then remembers Logan is still in the other tent.

Meanwhile, Carlos is still running, trying to find Kendall and the bear. Suddenly, he sees them. Kendall is leading the bear towards the river.

"Kendall!" Kendall makes the mistake of looking up, momentarily losing focus as the bear swats him. He falls to the ground and winces. "Kendall, no!" Carlos yells as the bear picks him up and throws him back down. He starts to slash his skin as Kendall tries to protect himself.

Carlos starts to make a run towards the bear.

"Carlos, stop" Kendall tells him from the ground. "I can handle the bear, just go back to the camp and help James pack up!"

"I am not leaving you here while a bear is hurting you!"

"I am fine, Carlos, I don't need your help!"

"You do need my help, Kendall. I am not going to let you die!" Carlos adds, sounding determined as he watches the bear pick Kendall off the ground and holding him tight in its grasp. Then he starts to run once again, screaming as he runs at the bear headfirst.

"Carlos, no!" Kendall yells. Carlos runs into the bear with all his might. The bear roars. It drops Kendall and then turns around, swatting Carlos with one paw.

The force sends Carlos' helmet off his head as he didn't fasten it. Carlos himself falls to the ground, smashing his head into a rock and then lies still, out cold.

Kendall watches as the bear heads for the unconscious Carlos. He tries to get up, but winces as he feels the deep slashes the bear left on his chest, arms and legs. He watches helplessly as the bear moves towards Carlos, but passes him rght then.

Kendall is confused and stares as the bear walks towards Carlos' helmet. It grabs the helmet and starts to smash it into a rock, while roaring. Kendall quietly gets up, wincing as he does, but moving slowly towards Carlos.

Just as he is finally standing, the bear turns around. He closes his eyes and waits for more pain, but nothing happens. He opens his eyes and is relieved to find the bear is hurrying away from them.

He then slowly moves to Carlos and gets on his knees.

"Carlos? Can you hear me?" Carlos doesn't respond. Kendall groans, but slowly gets up and tries to scoop Carlos up from the ground. He winces as his body involuntarily touches the bleeding slashes on his chest and arms, but he starts to walk anyway.

Back at the camp, James has started to pack his things into a bag, when he sees Kendall coming out of the woods. His eyes widen and he rushes over to his friends as he sees the state they are in.

Kendall hands Carlos to James. "Get him inside the tent, he hit his head pretty hard. I think it's bleeding." James carefully heads to the other tent and lays Carlos down on his own sleeping bag. Just then he sees Logan's sleepy eyes watching him. His eyes widen in shock as he sees Carlos. He moves to get up.

"No, stay down. We got this." Logan lies back down, but he shoots James a questioning look.

"There was a bear at the campsite. Kendall lured him away, Carlos went after them. I don't know what happened after that, but Kendall looks worse than he does." Logan wants to get up again, swaying as he does. "Again, stay. We got this, you just get better and watch Carlos. Apparently he hit his head." Logan wants to protest, but James hurries out of the tent to help Kendall. He can't do anything but watch Carlos with concerned eyes. Where is his helmet?

"What happened?" James asks Kendall, who has gone to sit down on one of the logs, groaning as he does. He grabs the first aid kit and starts to help Kendall clean up his wounds.

"The bear got me. Then Carlos showed up and ran into the bear, who then swatted him and he fell against a rock." Kendall winces as James touches one of his wounds.

"Wow, he got you good."

"I just can't believe Carlos showed up like that. What was he thinking?"

"uhm, he was thinking about saving you."

"He didn't have to, I was handling it just fine." He winces loudly as James presses into one of his wounds a little too hard.

"Yeah, that's how you got all of these wounds, right?"

"I didn't need his help. Why didn't he just listen to me and stayed here with you? Now look what happened."

"Yeah, you're both still alive." James tells him. Kendall just shoots him a glare.

"Yeah and Carlos is out cold. He could have brain damage or something!"

"This is Carlos we're talking about. He's got a thick skull, he has hit his head so many times, I've lost count. He'll be fine."

"I just don't get why he has to act so stupid all the time. I wish he would just grow up!"

Meanwhile in the tent, Carlos drifts in and out of consciousness. He starts to come to and then hears James and Kendall shouting outside.

"Carlos? Are you awake?" Logan quietly asks from the other side of the tent. But Carlos ignores him. All he hears is one of his best friends calling him stupid and immature once again. He decides he doesn't want to wake up yet and lets himself fall back into the darkness.

"Carlos?" Logan asks again, before giving up and thinking his friend is still out cold. He slowly closes his own eyes, worried for all four of them making it out alive.

_So, it happened again. Stay tuned for the next chapter and I'll try to come up with ways for James to get hurt as well. He is just too okay right now ;)_

_Anyway, thanks for the reviews and ideas. Some of you really think the same way I do, I just love it! Keep it coming and I'll keep on writing!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	8. Chapter 8 Trapped

Chapter 8 Trapped

It's been a few hours and Kendall has been resting in his tent, after James ordered him to. James sits outside, mindlessly drawing in the ground with a stick. He chuckles lightly at the stick figures that represent him and his friends. But his smile soon fades as he realizes all the pain they are going through.

"Okay, I've rested lng enough, let's go." He suddenly hears Kendall's voice say.

"Uhm, are you sure that's such a good idea?" James asks while looking at the bandages covering Kendall's body.

"I think we've gotten hurt enough now, don't you think? I just want to go home."

"I want to go home, too. But you are in no shape to go hiking home right now."

"So you're suggesting we just stay here and die instead?"

"Jesus, Kendall, what is up with you? A bear nearly killed you today, Logan is still very sick and Carlos is out cold. Of course I want to go home, but I want you guys to make it there alive!" James yells.

"What's with all the yelling again?" The cracking voice of Carlos asks. James whips his head around, to see Carlos staggering out of the tent, holding his head. He quickly catches him, when he nearly falls down.

"Whoa, there. You should lie back down." He suggests, but Carlos protests.

"No, I want my helmet first." Kendall casts his eyes to the ground. "Have you seen it?"

James gives Kendall a confused glance. "Uh, no, I haven't. Why don't you just go lie back down and I'll look for it, alright?" Carlos sadly nods. He steers Carlos back to the tent and then focuses his attention on Kendall.

"Kendall?" Kendall looks up at him and looks away quickly. "Do you know where his helmet is?"

"It's gone." Kendall says in a quiet voice.

"Gone, what do you mean it's gone?"

"The bear took it, smashed it into a rock and left." James rubs a hand on his face.

"And he took it with him?"

"No, he left it behind, but.." Kendall starts, but James interrupts.

"So then it's not gone." He starts for the woods immediately with a determined look.

"James, where are you going? That helmet is destroyed!" Kendall shouts after him, making him stop.

"Maybe it's not. Look, that helmet is important to him. Don't you remember how he reacted when he lost it?" Kendall thought about it for a minute.

"Yeah, but.."

"I'm going to go look for it, alright?" James starts to walk again. Kendall sighs.

"Wait!" James stops again, looking at Kendall. "I'm coming with you."

"I don't think so, Kendall." James walks away from him. Kendall puts a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm coming with you." Kendall repeats. James sighs when he sees the determined look in Kendall's eyes.

"I'm not going to convince you to stay am I?"

"Nope. Besides, I know where to find it, remember?" Kendall adds with a sly grin, before he starts to walk.

James rolls his eyes, but follows.

After a few minutes the two arrived at the spot the helmet was last seen. Kendall looks by the river at the spot he was in earlier today, with the bear over him. He shudders at the memory and is lost in it, not realizing James is talking to him.

"Kendall?" A sudden touch of James makes Kendall flinch and look up.

"Huh?" He sighs with relief when he sees it's just James. "Sorry, got a little carried away there. What were you saying?"

"I was asking where you saw the helmet."

"Oh, uh, I think it was over there somewhere." He replies, pointing to his left where some trees and rocks are gathered. Then he sees the rock Carlos fell on, blood still there. He shudders again, but shakes the thought and decides to focus on finding the helmet.

They both walk around, looking for the helmet, when suddenly:

"I got it!" James shouts with a smile. Kendall and him smile and cheer. But they stop quickly when they really look at it.

"oh no…" Kendall says.

"What are we going to tell Carlos?"

"Maybe we could pretend not to have found it, take it home, buy a new one and give him that!" Kendall and his plans…

"Or, we could not try to hide a helmet in what? Our pockets? And just tell him the truth." James says. Kendall sulks.

"Let's just go back."

They start walking again, when James suddenly spots something. Kendall doesn't notice and James walks away from him.

"So what do you think he'll do?" He looks beside him, finally seeing James isn't there. "James?" He looks behind him, suddenly spotting James in the woods. "James!" He shouts. "What are you doing?"

"I think I just saw my bag." James replies. "I did, it's here!" James happily shouts. He starts to run, not looking where he's going.

Kendall watches and suddenly his eyes go wide as he looks on the ground.

"James, stop running!" James just keeps on going. "James, look out, you're going to get hurt!" James still ignores him. "Look out!" Kendall screams. SNAP!

James screams loudly as he falls to the ground. He tries to reach for his right foot, when he sees a bear trap clawed around his ankle. He tries hard to get it off as his eyes start to tear up.

Kendall has started to rush towards his friend, careful not to step into the several bear traps placed in the woods.

"James, stop moving around, you'll only make it worse." He says, now very close by James.

"It hurts!" James screams, pain evident in his voice. He still keeps clawing at his foot.

"Just hold still!" Kendall shouts, now sitting in front of James. James finally stops struggling, tears flowing down his cheeks. Kendall looks closer at the bear trap, wincing when he sees the sharp teeth embedded into James' skin, blood already showing. "Okay, now this is going to hurt, alright?" James' eyes widen at this. "Well, more than it already is. Are you ready?" He asks as he puts his hands near the edges. "I'm going to pull then down and you take out your foot quickly, okay?" James nods with fear in his eyes.

Kendall takes in a deep breath. "Alright, one, two, three!" At three, he pushes the sides of the bear trap down as hard as he can. He tries to ignore James' screams.

"Now, James!" He says to James with a red face, using his full strength on the trap. James quickly pulls out his foot. Kendall lets go of the trap, it snaps closed again in a second. Kendall falls back, panting. He sees James squeezing his eyes shut, looking a little pale.

"James?" He softly asks, while moving closer to James. He doesn't answer, but puts his arms around him. "Come on, lets get you back to the camp." James slowly opens his eyes when Kendall starts to pull him up.

He lets out a scream, when he accidentally places his foot on the ground. Kendall holds on to him, as he nearly falls over. James steadies himself with help from Kendall and they carefully head back to the camp, making sure to avoid any more bear traps.

_Sorry for keeping you waiting, I was a little out of ideas. But I got back into it again __ Just want to thank mandy124 for her idea on the bear in the previous chapter. And even though I went for a foot instead of a hand, thanks to CheekyBrunette!_

_Of course thanks to everyone who reviewed so far, it just keeps me going _

_Well, I'm off, to write a new chapter, which will be up either tomorrow or Saturday. Talk to ya later!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	9. Chapter 9 Broken

Chapter 9 Broken

James and Kendall slowly enter the campsite. Kendall helps James sit down and gets the first aid-kit.

"Oh my god, what happened to your foot?" Carlos exclaims suddenly from next to James.

"It got caught in a bear trap." James answers with a wince as Kendall starts to treat his foot.

"Why are you out here, Carlos? You should be resting." Kendall tells him, not looking up from James' foot.

"I'm feeling fine, Kendall." Carlos tells him. "How did you get caught in a bear trap?"

"Well, I wanted to go look for your helmet and we.." James starts, but Carlos interrupts him.

"You went to look for my helmet?" Carlos asks him, his voice full of emotion. Amazed that his friend would do that.

"Well, yeah. I saw how upset you were when you couldn't find it and Kendall said he saw the bear taking it…"

"Why would the bear take it?" Carlos interrupts again.

"Probably because he was offended by the object, since you used it to ram into him." Kendall adds with an annoyed voice.

"Hey, I did that to save your life." Carlos defensively states.

"Oh, really? I believe I was doing just fine before you came along."

"Really? So the bear attacking you was just part of your plan?"

"Guys.." James asks as he watches his friends stand up and face each other.

"No, actually, I was luring it away. It only started attacking me because you showed up and distracted me."

"I was trying to save your life!" Carlos yells.

"Well your 'saving' almost got me killed!" Kendall yells back. Carlos becomes silent. "And you got James hurt too. If you hadn't shown up to 'save me', you wouldn't have lost tat stupid helmet, James wouldn't have gone to look for it and he wouldn't have gotten hurt. So, the next time you think of 'saving' someone; don't! 'Cause you only make things worse."

"Kendall, stop." James tries to stop him, seeing the hurt expression on Carlos' face.

"No, James. He needs to grow up before someone else gets seriously hurt or worse!"

"I was only trying to help!" Carlos shouts back now, pain evident in his eyes and voice.

"Well, we don't need your help. I am the leader of this group, I can take care of everyone just fine without you making things worse!"

"If you were such a great leader, Kendall, why did we even need to go on this trip? Huh? A great leader makes sure the group sticks together and doesn't fight. In case you haven't noticed, we haven't been a team for months now. Heck, we're hardly even friends anymore." Carlos says, his voice cracking up and tears starting to spill.

"Since when are we not friends anymore?" Kendall asks.

"Since everyone is living in their own little world and you've become the worlds most selfish jerk. For months I've been trying to spend some time with you guys and every single time you blew me off for a girl or whatever."

"Well, maybe that's because we're growing up and we don't want to have to baby-sit you all the time."

"Kendall, knock it off!" James yells at him.

"No, it's true, isn't it? Every time we're with you, something happens. Either something breaks and we all pay for it or someone gets hurt. The way I see it, the less time we spend with you, the safer our lives are!" James looks shocked at Kendall's last words and the smile on his face. Carlos doesn't respond.

"Carlos.." James starts. But Carlos just turns around and walks away.

James gives Kendall an angry look. "What the hell is wrong with you lately?"

"What?" Kendall asks, like nothing happened.

"Did you not hear yourself just now? All those things you said to Carlos? Don't tell me you actually meant all of that."

"So, what if I did."

"I know you didn't, Kendall. Why are you being such an ass to him? He saved our lives, remember? When we fell into the river?"

"I was handling it. We would've been fine without him."

"We would have been dead without him." James reminds him, emphasizing 'dead'. "Jesus, Kendall. Carlos is right, you are a selfish jerk." Kendall just stares, but the smile is completely gone. A look of guilt is slowly starting to creep in.

James tries to get up, but winces, when he nearly lands on his foot again. Kendall isn't sure what to do.

"Can you just help me to the tent?" James angrily asks Kendall. Kendall doesn't say a word, but starts to help James into the tent they share. "Thank you. Now leave, because I'm still mad at you."

Kendall walks out of the tent. He starts to think about what has been going on and contemplates on going after Carlos. But he knows he won't want to see him right now. Just then he sees the battered helmet lying on the campsite ground. They were fighting so much, he never even gave it back. Not that it mattered much, it was useless now.

He sighs deeply before picking up the helmet and working towards the other tent. He quietly gets inside and lays the helmet on Carlos' sleeping bag. Then he turns to Logan, who lies with his back towards him.

"Logan? Are you awake?" No response. "You know I can always tell." He says with a smile. "Logan?" he says, now reaching one hand out to touch his friend. Logan immediately seems to flinch from his touch. Kendall pulls his hand away.

"Oh. So you're mad at me too now. Okay, I guess I deserve that. I just don't know what's happening to me. I…" He sighs again. "I'll just leave you alone." He sadly says and moves out.

Logan lies still, with his eyes open. He lies on his back again, sighing deeply as he stares at the battered helmet lying next to him.

A few hours later, Carlos returns to the campground again. He never went far, he just needed some time away from them.

The minute he returns, he sees Kendall sitting by the fire, staring into the flames. He suddenly looks up and stands up when he sees Carlos. He opens his mouth to say something, but Carlos quickly moves into the tent, closing up the zipper.

"Hey, you're back." Logan's voice makes him turn around. His eyes are filled with concern as he sees Carlos' puffy red eyes.

"Yeah. I just needed some air." He jokingly replies. Logan doesn't smile. "I'm okay." He quietly adds. He then moves to his sleeping bag and stops when he finds his helmet, completely broken in half.

Logan watches him with even more concern as he slowly picks up the object and stares at it while sitting down. He wants to say something, but just waits for Carlos to open up.

After a few minutes of silence, Carlos finally begins to speak again.

"You know, my mom gave me this helmet." He starts in a quiet voice.

"Really?"

"Yeah. She was really protective of me. I just thought it looked stupid, so I refused to wear it. She sometimes chased me down the street when I went outside, just screaming for me to put it on." He smiles at the memory. "I really drove her up the wall with that." His smile then fades and he looks serious. "And then she had that accident. I just lost it. I thought it was all my fault, that she died because I didn't listen to her, you know? I can remember standing in front of her casket, looking at her. I put the helmet on and told her 'look mom, I'm wearing the helmet now. You can wake up now.'" Tears are flowing down his cheeks now as he talks. "I know, it's stupid."

"No, it's not stupid. I remember when my mom died, I didn't want my dad to leave the house. I was so scared he would die too. I mean, we were just kids, we didn't know any better." Logan reassures him.

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, for some reason I just never let go of that helmet again. I know, my head was so much smaller back then, but it's the same helmet. My dad just kept getting it enlarged for me."

"I'm sorry." Logan quietly tells him. Carlos looks at him and then looks down again.

"For what? It's my own fault. Kendall was right, I shouldn't have tried to save him. I mean, if I hadn't, he wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Carlos, don't say that. Just forget what Kendall said, alright? It's not true. This isn't your fault. You tried to save him, who knows what would have happened if you hadn't gone to help him? You're a good friend, Carlos." Carlos looks up again and Logan gives him a small smile. "Yeah, so you're completely insane and dangerous sometimes. But that's what we love about you."

Carlos smiles and looks down again. "Come here." Logan mentions with open arms. Carlos smiles a bigger smile and leans in for a hug.

After a few seconds, the let go. Carlos wipes the last tears from his face.

"I'm sorry." He says.

"For what?"

"Here I am, crying about my problems, while you're still sick and burning up."

"Hey, I'm fine and your problems are just as important as mine."

"Yeah, just lie back down." Logan lets out an annoyed groan. Carlos just chuckles.

"I hate being sick."

The two start to bring up memories of their childhood. Meanwhile, Kendall sits outside. A lone tear rolls down his face as he overhears the conversation taking place between his friends. Had he really made Carlos feel that bad? He just sits in front of the fire, lost in thought. It was time to become a leader again and get everyone out safely, before anyone else could get hurt.

_Here another long chapter. Sorry for the Kendall fans out there that I made him act like a jerk. Just keep reading, everything will become clear!_

_Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. No one physically got hurt this time, but just wait, I have more plans to come!_

_Thanks for all the reviews again, keep em coming, I love reading them _

_Until later and love,_

_Baxxie_


	10. Chapter 10 Walking Out

Chapter 10 Walking Out

It's early in the morning when Kendall wakes up. He stretches and yawns loudly. He looks beside him and is surprised to find no one there. He changes into his clothes, still wincing as he touches the healing wounds on his torso.

He heads outside and is even more surprised to find Logan and James sitting by the fire, while Carlos is tearing down the other tent. Logan still looks pale and sort of leans on James. James' bandaged foot lays on a blanket in front of him.

"Hey guys." He cheerfully says to Logan and James. They whip their heads around to see him, but turn right back to the breakfast they are cooking.

"Hey." They both mumble back without looking at him.

"Okay." Kendall senses some tension, but he chooses to ignore it and heads to Carlos. "Hey, you need some help?"

Carlos looks up for a second, but glares immediately. "No, I'm fine." He replies shortly.

"Right, okay. I guess I'll just go sit down then." Carlos rolls his eyes and keeps on going.

Kendall walks back to the fire and sits down on another log.

"So, what's for breakfast?" Logan and James share a look before James answers.

"Fish."

"Wow, it smells good." He smiles again, but his friends don't smile back. "Okay. So, uhm, Logan, it's good to see you up. I guess you're feeling better?"

"No, not really. But Carlos and I were talking last night and we agreed it could be best if we headed home as soon as possible. So, we got up early, so we can get an early start." Logan answers.

"Oh, yeah, that sounds good." Kendall says, still trying to hold a smile. But he finds it hard as he feels James staring him down. "So, I think we should first head towards the car again and go from there." He suggests.

"Actually, since we don't know which way the car is, Carlos suggested we just follow the river. I remember the river heading north, so if we follow its path, it will lead us home." James informs him.

"Oh. Wow, I guess you guys already thought of everything." Kendall says with a fake smile.

"Yeah, we did." James answers again in a cold voice.

"Well, I guess I'll go pack then." Kendall says as he starts to get up.

"Don't you want breakfast?" James offers.

"Uhm, you know what? I'm not really that hungry anyway. You guys share it." He walks off towards the tent.

James just shrugs as he starts to eat some of the fish.

"You want some?" He says to Logan, holding out his piece of fish.

Logan scrunches up his nose and become even paler than he was. "yeah, I think I'll pass." James shrugs again.

"Suit yourself."

Kendall slowly starts to gather his things inside the tent. It's not that hard, considering he had been packing before. But he goes to sit down for a moment and breathes heavily. He knew his friends were mad at him, but he didn't realize it was this bad. Every glare made his guilt feel even stronger. He tries to breathe steadily and tries to contain his emotions, making sure the tears coming on don't spill.

After what seems like hours, Kendall steps out of the tent. His eyes go wide as he sees James hunched over on the ground, holding Logan's form in his arms.

"Come on, Logan, just try to stay awake." He hears James tell him. Kendall rushes over to them and gets on his knees. He finally sees Logan's face, which is deathly pale. It glistens with sweat and his eyes are nearly closed.

"James, stay with him, I'll go get some water." He says and he quickly gets up. He wants to run, but is stopped by Carlos.

"No need, Kendall. I got it." Carlos tells him. Kendall watches as Carlos holds a bottle of water in front of Logan's mouth, while James supports him.

Kendall steps back a little and watches his friends take care of each other. After a while, James sits up and smiles. Kendall watches Logan smile back softly.

"Hey." James softly tells him. "Better?" Logan nods a little. He is still pale, but seems a little better.

"I guess we can rule out Logan walking on his own when we leave." Kendall quietly mentions.

"Already got that covered." Carlos answers. Kendall watches and sees he holds a makeshift gurney from tent material.

"You made that?"

"We did, Logan talked us through it." James answers before Carlos can.

After about an hour, both tents are finally packed up. Tension still lingers in the air, but everyone is ready to go. The boys have bags strapped onto their back. James holds two sticks as crutches and Carlos holds onto the gurney Logan lies on. He still protests, but Carlos made sure he is strapped in tight and has no choice.

"Okay, let's head out." Carlos announces as he starts to lead the way. James comes up behind him and Logan, while Kendall lingers in the back.

The boys head towards the river and when they find a safe distance from it, they start to head up north.

After a few hours, the boys have increased their pace and have started singing their own songs for enjoyment. Only Kendall is still quiet. He just in front of him and follows his friends.

"Hey, Carlos! Why don't you set in Big Night?" James calls to the front. Carlos laughs and starts to sing.

Kendall hardly listens, while Carlos belts out the notes. James follows suit and even Logan tries a few notes. Kendall makes sure to keep an eye on Logan especially, in case something happens.

Soon, while his friends still sing, he notices Logan's face changing color.

"Uhm, guys?" He calls out. But the singing just goes on. He rolls his eyes and walks faster, until he is closer to all three of them. "Guys!" He shouts.

Suddenly all is quiet. They stop walking and look at Kendall.

"I think we need to rest." He tells them while he stares at Logan. James looks at him as well. Carlos puts down the gurney and shoots a concerned look at Logan. He has begun to look a little green. Kendall quickly helps him off the gurney as Logan starts to throw up.

After he is done, Kendall helps him lie back down. "Like I said, I think we need to rest."

"I guess it's a good idea, it's starting to get dark anyway." James informs them. The others look confused.

"That's impossible, we haven't been walking that long." Carlos says as they all look up.

"On second thought, I guess it's just the weather changing." James notes, with a grimace.

"That's not good." Kendall adds as they watch dark clouds forming in the sky directly above them.

_Hi there! Sorry, not a lot of whumpage in this chapter. I promise there is more to come. Also sorry for skipping ahead a lot, but this was just an in-between chapter and I was out of ideas for it._

_Hope you liked it anyway, please review and thank you so far!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	11. Chapter 11 Rainy Days

Chapter 11 Rainy Days

After a few minutes of resting, the boys want to go on. But then the first drops of rain start to fall. In a few minutes it is pouring down.

"Now what do we do?" James shouts over the rain as all boys start to get soaked.

"We need to keep going, it'll stop soon." Carlos shouts back.

"I think we need to look for shelter." Kendall shouts. Carlos stops walking and looks back at Kendall.

"If we stop now, we'll never make it home!" He shouts to Kendall.

"If we don't stop, Logan will get even sicker." Kendall shouts back.

James look between them, feeling tension rising again.

"You think I don't care about Logan?" Carlos asks.

"I never said that." Kendall argues.

"No, but you think I'm irresponsible, right? So I'll mess this up, too, right?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Guys!" James shouts. They both look at him. "If you stay here and argue, Logan will get sick anyway. So let's just keep walking and maybe we will find shelter on the way."

"Oh, so you're taking his side now?" Carlos argues with James.

"I'm not taking sides right now. But I'm wet and cold and my foot hurts. I just want to get out of here, before things get…worse." As he says the last part, a loud roar of thunder is heard above them.

Carlos and Kendall give each other one more glare before they all gather up and start walking again.

The rain has made the ground wet and muddy. Every step becomes slippery. There is more than one occasion where Kendall helps James pull his 'crutches' out of the ground.

The boys keep on going, even though it's getting harder to see. Kendall keeps an eye on Carlos as he carries Logan. More than once he sees Carlos almost lose his grip on Logan. After seeing Carlos nearly slip and fall to the ground, he has had enough and steps out to the front.

"Alright, hand Logan to me." He announces. Carlos just keeps on walking. "Carlos!" He makes the Latino stop walking by putting a hand on his arm. Carlos turns around and stares at his arm. Kendall quickly lets go.

"Hand Logan over to me."

"And why should I?" Carlos asks him.

"Because I've watched you nearly drop him like four times now."

"Nearly meaning, I haven't." Carlos turns around and starts to walk again. Kendall glares and decides to just take the gurney instead. He starts to pull on it, making Carlos stop again.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"I asked you nicely, that didn't work. So I'll just take him instead."

"Kendall, let go of the handles." Carlos warns as they both tug on the handles.

"No, give him to me. You aren't careful enough."

"I haven't dropped him once, he's perfectly safe with me."

"He was safe, yeah. But I just know you'll drop him, you always break everything. You're bound to drop Logan."

"Oh, so we're back at this are we? Now I'm too irresponsible to carry Logan?"

"Just give him to me!"

"Let go, Kendall!"

"Guys, stop!" James tries to come between them. He comes so close in fact, that one more tug on the handles leads to one elbow bumping James to the ground hard.

"You let go, Carlos! You'll drop him!"

"He is just fine, I can take care of him!"

"No, you can't!"

Kendall and Carlos keep arguing, while Logan slowly opens his eyes and suddenly notces James on the ground, eyes squeezed shut in pain.

"Uh, guys?" He quietly asks. They just keep on going. "Guys!" He shouts with all his strength, resulting in a coughing fit.

Finally they stop fighting as they hear Logan cough.

"Now look what you did!" Carlos starts.

"Me? If you had just let go of the handles, he would be fine!"

"If you hadn't started pulling on them in the first place, we wouldn't have even started this argument!" Logan just keeps on coughing.

"Great! He's probably got pneumonia now. You happy now?"

"Happy? What, now I started this whole storm?"

"No, but you.." Carlos interrupts Kendall as he finally notices James. He carefully lays Logan down on the ground and heads over. He accidentally bumps into Kendall on the way over.

"Hey! Now you're just resulting into violence?"

"Just shut up and help me get James up!" Kendall's eyes widen as he also notices James. "James?" Carlos calls out to his friend. But loud groaning is all he gets in return.

"Where does it hurt, James?" Kendall asks. James doesn't talk, but starts to point down to his leg. Both boys look down and gasp as they see the odd angle James' leg is in. "Okay, James? We need to pull you up, okay?"

"No, it hurts…" James moans.

"I know, but we can't let you lie here. It's too cold and wet, okay? We don't need you to get as sick as Logan is. Come on." Carlos and Kendall both grab a hold under James' arms. "Okay, I'm going to count to three and then you need to help out and pull too. Keep your leg off the ground and we'll hand you your crutches, alright?"

"I can't…"

"James, we know it hurts, but right now we don't have another choice." Kendall gets ready to count, when Carlos starts to get up and take the bag off his back.

"What are you doing?" Kendall asks him.

"Look, we can't let him lean on those crutches, he's in too much pain right now. I'm going to leave this bag and carry Logan on my back instead. James can then lie on the gurney and we can look for shelter. There seems to be a path in front of us, maybe it leads somewhere." Carlos answers as he starts to move towards Logan.

"Okay, but I'll carry Logan then. He's too heavy for you." Kendall tells him.

"I can carry Logan. I've carried him before, I can do it again."

"No, I will.." Kendall starts again, but Carlos interrupts.

"I said I got it, Kendall!" He shouts angrily, making Kendall back down. Kendall watches Carlos exchange words with Logan. Logan then nods and Carlos starts to hoist him up and lets him hang on to his back. He sees Carlos wince, but it only lasts a moment. Knowing he'll never convince him otherwise, he decides to follow him.

"Come on, James, lets get you onto that gurney." He determinedly tells James, who whimpers in pain.

A few moments later the boys are walking again, but their pace is slowing down ever so slightly. Carlos is in the front again, with Logan tightly holding onto him and seemingly sleeping on his back, with his head resting in his neck.

Kendall walks behind, holding the gurney with James on it, who still has his eyes shut and wincing every time they hit a slight bump. This is followed by Kendall's voice apologizing every single time.

_Another chapter. More filling for now ;)_

_I hope you liked it, please review again and fill me in on any requests or ideas you might have. Even if they are for other stories, because I love writing!_

_Thanks and love, Baxxie_


	12. Chapter 12 Lost Cabin

Chapter 12 Lost Cabin

It seems like the boys have been walking for hours with no end in sight. Kendall still walks on, with a determined look. The storm has not died in the least. All four boys are cold, wet and tired.

Kendall watches up front and has noticed Carlos walking slower the last few minutes. He looks on in surprise as he sees him stumble a few times.

Then finally, Carlos stumbles again and falls to the ground. He braces himself just in time, so Logan doesn't fall off his back.

Kendall strides over.

"Are you okay?" He shouts over the rain.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Kendall. No need to take over." Carlos spits back.

"I just asked if you were okay." Kendall responds. Carlos doesn't respond and starts to get back up. But he falls right back down, breathing hard.

"Carlos?" Kendall asks him, staring with a concerned look.

"I'm fine, okay!" Carlos shouts at him. Kendall just holds up his hands.

"Okay, fine."

He stands back and watches as Carlos struggles to get up.

"Maybe we should rest for a bit." Kendall suggests.

"No!" Carlos shouts again. "I can handle this. We need to keep going."

"Okay, okay." Kendall says as he holds up his hands again.

"You must be having the time of your life right now." Carlos suddenly says.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You were just waiting for this moment, weren't you?"

"Carlos, I don't know what.." Kendall starts, but Carlos interjects.

"You were waiting until I would screw up. Because you thought I couldn't handle carrying Logan and congratulations, you won. I guess I really am a screw-up." Carlos says from the ground. Then he moves Logan from his back and carries him to a rock and sits him on it. Logan can now rest with his back against a tree.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know I might not be the smartest guy in the group or the most responsible. But I try my best, Kendall."

"Carlos, I…"

"But I guess that's not good enough for you, right?" Carlos says with a sad laugh. "I'm always going to be the stupid kid to you, aren't I?"

"Carlos.."

"No, you know what? Fine. I don't even care anymore, I am too tired for this. I give up. So you win, Kendall. You win."

"Just stop it!" Kendall shouts, making Carlos look at him. "I don't think you're stupid and irresponsible, alright?"

"I heard you say it, Kendall. So you don't have to lie to me anymore."

"I'm not lying."

"Then why did you say it?"

"I just…" Kendall hesitates. But Carlos takes it the wrong way.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Come on, Logan." He says and tiredly picks Logan up from the ground, carrying him again and moving onwards.

Kendall groans in frustration, but he grabs the gurney and starts to pull James along again.

After an hour of walking in silence again, Carlos suddenly stops.

"Why did you stop?" Kendall asks him.

"Look." Carlos answers and Kendall follows his gaze to the right.

"Is that a cabin?" Kendall asks.

"Come on." Carlos says and he starts to pick up his pace towards it. Kendall quickly follows.

When they finally reach it, they note there is in fact a wooden cabin in front of them. Carlos's eyes light up slightly as he almost races towards it.

"Carlos, wait! What if there are people in there?"

"Well, then they can help us get home." Carlos answers back.

"Carlos? They might not be that nice." Kendall states. Carlos just rolls his eyes and moves forward. "Carlos?" Kendall watches, but can't stop him as Carlos steps closer to the cabin and takes a look inside the windows.

"I don't think there's anyone in there." He shouts. "hello?" He calls out as he steps in front of the front door. He starts to knock on the door when it starts to open on its own. He shrugs and heads inside.

"Carlos, get back here!" Kendall shouts in a whisper. "Carlos?" He waits, when suddenly the door opens again.

"It's completely abandoned." Carlos tells him and then heads back inside. Kendall sighs in frustration, but starts to head inside as well.

Inside, he immediately coughs at all the dust that is in there. Carlos lays Logan onto an old couch in the corner, while Kendall lays down the gurney and takes off his bag. He stretches his muscles and watches as Carlos lets himself fall into an old recliner, groaning from his aching muscles.

Kendall starts to move around the small cabin, checking for electricity. Finding that it doesn't work, he searches for candles instead. He finds them in the small open kitchen along with matches and a lantern.

"Well, I found some candles. Seems like whoever lived here, just left all their stuff behind." He looks up to find all three of his friends fast asleep.

He sighs and puts the candle into the lantern. He lights it and puts it in the middle of the room on a brown coffee table. He himself sits down in a second recliner and watches his friends sleep.

He closes his eyes and tries to get some sleep himself. But after a few moments of trying to get comfortable he awakes from Logan mumbling and whimpering in his sleep. He quickly heads over to him.

"Logan?" he whispers, gently shaking him. Logan doesn't wake up, but he does settle down. "Oh, Logie. Don't worry, we'll get you home." He sighs and looks on in concern at the beads of sweat forming on his face again. Logan starts to shiver.

Kendall gets up and heads to his bag. He unhooks the sleeping bag and covers Logan. He knows he'll need it the most. Then he looks at James lying on the gurney still, with his leg in that strange angle. He definitely needs to g to the hospital. Finally his gaze rests on Carlos. He sleeps peacefully, but Kendall knows their friendship has taken a blow.

He then slowly gets up and walks out to the front porch, breathing in the fresh air. Carlos has woken up, because he heard the creaking of the door. He notices Kendall is not inside anymore and gets up.

"Kendall?" He softly calls out and moves outside. The moment he opens the door, a loud creaking is heard. Kendall and Carlos both look up as part of the porch ceiling starts to fall down. "Look out!" Carlos yells as he pushes Kendall out of the way.

"Noo!" Kendall yells as he watches the wooden beams fall down, on top of Carlos with a loud crash. Then all is quiet. "Carlos?" He carefully asks. There is no answer.

He quickly rushes to his side and pulls off the wooden beams. Finally he sees Carlos. He lies still, eyes wide open, but his face is deathly pale.

"Carlos?" He quietly asks. Carlos doesn't answer, he just breathes heavily. It is at that moment when Kendall looks down and gasps.

There, between all the sawdust and fallen beams, one beam seems to have broken in two pieces. The sharp ending is now sticking out from Carlos' abdomen, the other end lodged deep inside…

_Oh, how mean was that, right? Told ya worse things were to come ;)_

_Sorry for not really describing the cabin in detail. I sort of have a picture of it in my head, but I don't know how to describe it in full. So I'll just let you make up your own mind._

_Anyway, I hope you liked it. I'll update again soon, so please keep the reviews coming, It just keeps me going!_

_Thank you and love, Baxxie_


	13. Chapter 13 Breaking Down

Chapter 13 Breaking Down

The sound of the wood falling has jolted both Logan and James awake.

"What was that?" James asks in shock as he tries to sit up.

"Kendall?" Logan quietly asks as he looks around. Not seeing anyone besides him and James, he weakly starts to get up.

"Logan, what are you doing?" James asks him, also trying to move, but he winces as soon as tries to move his leg.

"Kendall?" Logan asks again, ignoring James, as he starts to walk towards the cabin door. "Carlos? Kendall?" He asks again, louder every time. He tries to stay close to the walls of the cabin, as he might fall over if he doesn't.

Suddenly Kendall walks in. Logan and James look shocked at how pale he is. He seems to be shaking all over and is covered in sawdust. Another detail stands out as the other boys notice his hands, covered in blood.

"I need a towel or something." Kendall absentmindedly says, hardly acknowledging his two friends.

"Kendall? What happened? Are you hurt?" Logan asks in a concerned voice. Kendall doesn't respond. He walks around the cabin, moving things around as he looks for something.

"All the blood, I just want a towel."

"Kendall? Talk to me, what's going on?" Logan asks again. He slowly walks towards his friend, still feeling weak, but shaking the dizziness away.

"Just a towel, to help him…" "Kendall!" Logan shouts, grabbing hold of Kendall's hands. Kendall seems to shoot awake and he now looks directly into Logan's eyes.

"Carlos.. he needs a towel. I have to stop the bleeding.." Logan and James both freeze at that statement.

"Where is he?" Logan asks him.

"No, you need to lie down, you're sick." Kendall tells him as he finally finds a towel and starts to head back out.

"kendall!" Logan shouts. He gives James one more worried look, but then follows Kendall outside as quick as he can.

His pale face turns to a lighter shade if even possible when he finally sees Carlos. The otherwise so cheerful, ball of energy is lying on his back. His face is white as a sheet, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar. But the worst detail of the picture is the huge beam of wood sticking out of his abdomen. Blood is already pooling around him.

Kendall sits on his knees as he tries to press around the wound.

"Kendall?" Carlos weakly asks, as he tries to stop a coughing fit.

"Shh, don't talk. You're going to be okay, Carlos." Kendall tells him in a determined voice. Logan can hear how his friend is close to breaking down. "Now, you need to lie very still. I'm going to pull this beam out, so I can get you inside, okay?"

"Kendall, no." Logan suddenly says. Kendall looks startled, as he never heard the other boy approach.

"Why not? I have to get him inside." He determinedly moves his eyes back on the beam.

"You can't pull the beam out."

"I have to." Kendall starts and moves his hands back to the beam.

"Kendall, if you pull it out, he'll bleed to death!" Logan says, as he cautiously moves towards the boys. Kendall stops moving.

"Then what do I do? I can't just leave him out here!" He shouts back as his voice starts to crack.

"Kendall, it's okay…" Carlos' weak voice suddenly tells him. Kendall turns to him with tears slowly streaming down his face.

"No, Carlos. I am not leaving you here. I will get you inside and you're going to be okay, we all are." He says with new determination.

"It's okay, Kendall." Carlos says again.

"No, Kendall is right. We are not leaving you here to die. You will not die, you are going to be okay." Logan suddenly appears next to Kendall, face stained with non-stopping tears.

Carlos weakly nods, but then his eyes slowly start to close.

"Carlos? Carlos! Oh, god.. I am so sorry… This is my fault.. You shouldn't have saved me again, I didn't deserve it…" Kendall starts as he starts to sob and rock back and forth as he does.

"Kendall? Kendall.." Logan tells him and he shakes his shoulders, making Kendall look at him. "You need to do something for me, okay?" Kendall stares at him, but then slowly nods. "Maybe we can't pull out that beam, but we can shorten it. I don't think it went all the way through. So all we need to is break off the top part and then we can carry him inside, okay?" Kendall just sobs. "Kendall? Just stay with me, all right? You can't give up now. Carlos is still alive. And he needs you right now. We need you…We need our leader…" Logan tells him, during his own sobs.

All is silent for a second, when Kendall stares down. He curls his fists.

"What do I need to do?" Logan smiles through his tears as he hears Kendall's voice.

Meanwhile, James anxiously waits inside the cabin. He is still unable to move and can't help but feel worried and helpless at the same time. Frustrated that he can't go and help the others.

After some minutes have passed, he finally sees Kendall coming back in.

"Okay, careful. Have you got him?" Kendall asks as he gets a positive reply from Logan. James tries to see what's happening when he sees his friends carrying someone between them, Kendall holding the upper half, Logan carrying the feet.

They move towards the couch and James gasps in shock when he discovers Carlos, covered in blood and looking deathly pale with his eyes shut.

"What happened?" He asks as soon as he finds his voice.

"The wooden beams on the porch fell down and Carlos pushed me out of the way.. One of the beams embedded itself in his abdomen."

"Oh my god…" James lets out as tears now freely start falling from his afce as well. He watches as his friends race around the cabin, trying to find anything to help their friend. "What can I do?" he asks them while trying to get up.

"No, Jamie, you're staying right there. We got this." Kendall tells him in a stern but loving voice. James nods, relieved to finally see their 'leader' back in action.

"Here, press this down on the wound to stop the bleeding. But be careful with that beam." Kendall tells Logan as he hands him another towel, from their own bags this time. Logan complies immediately, keeping a close eye on Carlos chest to make sure it's still moving.

"What are you doing?" Logan asks his friend, as he moves around the cabin again, frantically searching for something.

"I need to find a phone or anything, so we can get in touch with someone and get out of here."

A sudden moan from Carlos stops everyone in their tracks. He blinks and slowly opens his eyes a little.

"carlos?" Logan carefully asks.

"Logie? What are you doing up? You should lie down, you're sick."

"I think you need your rest a lot more right now." He tells him with a smile through his tears.

"Me? No, I'm fine." Carlos says as he wants to shrug, but he winces and squeezes his eyes shut tightly as he feels the pain in his stomach.

"Carlos?" Logan asks, his voice full of worry.

"It hurts…" He manages to get out, not opening his eyes. Logan quietly sobs.

"I know. But you're going to be okay. We're going to get out of here, you hear me?"

"Okay." Carlos weakly replies.

The other three just share worried glances while they go back to their own tasks and James still lying down, just staring at his friend in pain.

_So, more and more drama is piling up. I hope you're all still intrigued and lovin' my story :P_

_Anyway, thank you all again for all the great reviews, I love reading them, it really keeps me want to keep going _

_Thank you all again and until the next chapter!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	14. Chapter 14 Let it out

Chapter 14 Let it out…

It's been a little while since Carlos was laid down on the couch. James is quietly staring at the ceiling, trying to keep his emotions in check. Logan is now sitting on the couch as well and has Carlos' head in his lap. He is slowly stroking his short hair in a soothing way as Carlos moans now and again. His eyes are shut, but Logan is keeping him awake just in case.

Meanwhile Logan is also keeping an eye on Kendall, who is frantically looking around for a way of communication. He has torn the cabin apart completely, but will not give up. He also will not accept help from anyone.

"There has got to be something that can help us in this stupid cabin!" He angrily shouts as he throws some pillows through the room. The pillows knock over a lamp, the shatter jolts Logan and James. James pretends he never heard and goes back to staring at the ceiling.

Logan carefully starts to move from the couch, slowly laying Carlos' head down on a pillow. He walks over to Kendall, keeping a safe distance as a small statuette flies past him.

"Kendall?" He carefully asks. "Maybe you should calm down." He suggests. Kendall whips around to gaze at his friend with mouth agape.

"Calm down? Calm down? I can't calm down, Logan. We need to get out of here right now. I have to find something to get us help." After this Kendall turns around and goes back to searching again.

"I know that, Kendall. But you're starting to freak me out." Logan tells his friend. Kendall stops what he's doing and turns back to Logan. He's about to ask why, when he finds himself holding another statuette so tightly, his knuckles have turned white. He sighs deeply and sets it down gently.

"I'm sorry. It's just… I have to fix this. I mean, I'm the 'leader', right? So I have to do this. And it's just frustrating that I can't find anything that can help us."

"I know. But you don't need to look for help by yourself. I'm here, aren't I? And James is, too. Even though he can't stand up right now. Right, James?" Logan says with a small smile as he looks over at James. He's met by silence.

"James? Are you sleeping?" Logan asks. Again no response. But they can both see his eyes are open.

"James, we know you're awake." Kendall chuckles a little as he and Logan move to sneak up on their friend. "Jamie…" Kendall says in a playful singing voice.

They move to jump on him, when they hear a soft sniff.

"James?" Logan carefully asks, while he and Kendall share a worried look. He reaches out to touch James' shoulder, but he turns his head away. His body then noticeably starts to shake, while soft sobs are heard.

"Oh, Jamie…" Kendall sighs and pulls him in a hug. Logan soon joins in as well, almost crying himself as their tall friend's body wracks with sobs.

After some time, James starts to calm down, so his friends let go of him.

"I'm sorry." He tells them as he wipes a few stray tears from his red and puffy eyes.

"Sorry for what?"

"For breaking down like that."

"No, James. It's okay, this trip hasn't really been easy on any of us." Kendall assures him.

"It's just.. I really want to help you guys, but here I am, just lying on the floor, completely useless." James tells them as tears start to form again.

"James, don't ever say that. You are not useless." Kendall tells him.

"But I can't do anything, I can't even get up from this damn floor. If I could, maybe I could have been outside too and Carlos wouldn't be dying right now." He says through sobs.

"James, look at me." Kendall tells him as he grabs a hold of his shoulders. James finally looks at him, tears streaming down his face. "This is not your fault, alright? And Carlos is not dying. He is going to be fine, we all are. Okay?" James finally nods and Kendall pulls him in another hug.

Suddenly a frightened sounding "Logie" is heard from behind them. All three turns their heads to the couch. Logan gets up and heads to Carlos, whose eyes are open wide again.

"It hurts so bad… You need to make it stop. Make it stop, Logie!" Carlos cries out in a pleading voice filled with pain. Logan just grabs a hold of him and rocks him back and forth soothingly, while silent tears roll down his own face.

"Okay, that is it. I'm going back to searching." Kendall gets up again, while James looks at Logan and Carlos helplessly.

"Kendall, wait." Kendall stops dead in his tracks as James addresses him. "Maybe there's a radio in here somewhere. I mean, aren't there usually old radios in cabins like these? There are in movies, right?" Kendall looks deep in thought for a moment, before lowering his head in defeat.

"Yeah, but I've already looked everywhere." James sighs in defeat as well.

Carlos suddenly starts to scream, holding his stomach and crying freely as Logan tries to calm him down. James stares at them in shock.

Kendall turns his head away, trying to hide his own tears. Then he yells out in frustration and heads for an old bookcase, tearing out all the books and flinging them across the room.

"Kendall, stop!" James cries out.

But Kendall keeps on going, unleashing all his anger and frustration out on the bookcase. When the piece of furniture is empty, he simply grabs it and throws that to the ground.

Then he lets himself drop to his knees, silently sobbing.

"Oh my god, Kendall…" James suddenly says. Kendall whips his head around to his voice, thinking the worst has happened. But when he finds his friend's face, it is staring at something right in front of him. "Look…" He points.

Kendall looks forward and almost starts to cry all over again out of happiness. There between all the dust of the bookcase, lies an old radio, ready to make contact with the outside world.

_Here is a shorter chapter with the BTR boys. Hope you liked the small James moment, I realized he was getting less and less attention. And he needed a little more, so there you go :P_

_Anyway, I hope you liked it and again, thank you for the reviews. I am sorry for not always replying to them, I just don't really know what to say, as I don't want to give the story away ;) Whoops, didn't mean for that to rhyme :P _

_Well, off to the next chapter! Finally help is on the way. Or is it? Find out next time!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	15. Chapter 15 Reconnect

Chapter 15 Reconnect

Kendall quickly grabs the radio and starts to set it up on a table in the kitchen area. He plugs it in, while Logan watches with James. He takes a deep breath and flips the "on" switch. Nothing happens.

"No, no, come on.." He mutters frantically and flips the switch on and off, hoping for a change. When no change occurs, he hits the top of it. "Damn it!" He yells in frustration and punches the table, before getting up.

James and Logan look defeated, while Kendall starts to get angry again.

"Of course it doesn't work. Why would it? We are just meant to die here." Kendall states while picking up a lamp and throwing it down with a shatter.

"Kendall, don't do this again." James pleads.

The shattering of the lamp has Carlos moving around and groaning as he slowly wakes up. Logan is the first to notice as he goes to sit by his friend at once.

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to think everything would be okay."

"But everything will be okay." Kendall laughs at this.

"Are you kidding me, James? Look around you. We are stuck in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, three of us are either sick or hurt and we can't get any help. Oh and we have no food. But you go ahead and keep up the faith, buddy. Because somehow, magically Santa will come and save us, right?" James looks on in concern as Kendall starts cackling like a maniac.

"Kendall?" Carlos' soft voice asks as if he was an innocent child who just awoke from a nightmare. Kendall doesn't hear him, he just continues to laugh until tears stream down his face. He starts to hold onto his stomach and soon his laughter starts to fade and his face scrunches up in pain. The others look on in worry as Kendall drops to his knees, breathing heavily.

Logan rushes to his side. "Kendall? What's wrong?" He asks as he sits on his knees next to his friend. He puts an arm around him, but Kendall swats it away and shakes his head. "Come on, let me help you."

"N-no, I'm fine." Kendall stammers as he tries to get up, but he falls to his knees again and cries out. Logan quickly grabs a hold of him and starts to help him stand.

"Come on, tough guy." He states and starts to guide his friend to a chair next to the couch Carlos lies on. Carlos stares at his friends through tiny eyes, unable to open them further.

Kendall leans on Logan heavily, but manages to walk a little bit on his own.

"Wow, Logan, you're really hot." He suddenly mentions.

"Uhm, okay, you really need to sit down." Logan stammers. Finally Kendall sinks down into the chair, but he keeps his eyes on Logan.

"No, I mean, you feel really hot. Your skin is warm."

"You know what? Why don't you just tell me where you're hurting." Logan tells him as he sits in front of him.

"You're still sick aren't you? And here I thought you were actually getting better, but you're just pretending, aren't you?" Kendall asks him in a worried tone.

"Well, apparently, I'm not the only one." Logan says as Kendall winces when Logan carefully touches his chest.

"I am fine, Logan. I guess it's just those bear scratches still sting a little. Ouch!" he yells out when Logan touches another part of his chest.

"Just hold still and let me take a look at those scratches." He says in a strict tone. Kendall knows not to argue when Logan is in doctor mode, so he keeps still and helps by taking off his shirt, wincing with every movement he makes. Logan widens his eyes at all the bandages, this being the first time he has seen Kendall's injuries.

"Is it bad?" Kendall asks, Logan is surprised to find a hint of fear in his voice. Logan reaches out to look under one of the bandages.

"Ooh, that looks infected." He quietly says.

"What?" Kendall asks in a panicky voice. He cries out in pain as Logan touches the scratch itself.

"Jep, definitely infected." He says with fascination. He moves to touch it again, when Kendall grabs his hand.

"Logan!" He warns and Logan snaps out of his zone.

"Oh, sorry. Well, these scratches all look infected, which may be why it's starting to hurt like this." He puts a hand on Kendall's forehead. "At least you don't have a fever yet."

"Oh, great. This just keep getting better and better." Kendall states as he carefully buttons his shirt back up.

"Those scratches really need to be cleaned up, but I don't have any supplies here." Logan says absentmindedly as he gets up from the floor. "We should call a doctor or something. Oh, look, a radio. That'll work."

"Logan?" Kendall asks him as he watches Logan walk towards the radio and picking up the receiver.

"Hello?" he says, while holding it to his ear. Kendall gives James a look, who shrugs in return.

"Logan?" He asks again, while walking up to his friend. "Maybe you should lie down." He suggests, while grabbing a hold of his shoulders and steering him away from the table.

"No, I need to call a doctor. Or better yet, I should call Camille, I haven't talked to her in a while. I hope she's not mad. Is it hot in here?" Logan rambles and suddenly Kendall catches him as he starts to fall to the ground.

"Logan!" But Logan's eyes are already closed. Beads of sweat are visible on the boy's face. "Not again…" Kendall says as he picks his friend up and lies him down on a blanket. "God, Logan… why didn't you just tell me you were still sick?" He softly says as he watches his friend shiver from his fever. He moves to grab another blanket and covers him with it.

"I guess he just wanted to help you." James softly tells him. Kendall looks at him and then moves to sit beside him. He sits with his back again the couch, so now he has a good view on James and Logan, while Carlos lies behind him, in his reach. "I'm sorry about the radio."

"Why are you sorry about that?"

"I pointed it out to you and made you all excited. And then you found out it didn't work.." Kendall chuckles slightly at James' strange reasoning.

"James." He interrupts his friend. "It's fine. I just should have knows it wouldn't work, you know? We haven't exactly had the best of luck lately." He tells his friend as he pulls up his knees and rests his arms on them.

"Yeah, I guess things have been pretty bad. But there is one good thing."

"What's that?" Kendall asks him.

"This is the longest we've all been together in a while now." He quietly says. Kendall smiles a little, but doesn't respond right away.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I just wish it was under better circumstances." James pats his arm.

"We'll be okay, Kendall. We've been in tough situations before. We've always managed." He tries to assure.

"Yeah, but we weren't fighting so much then. Maybe if we stayed that way, we wouldn't be here right now." James doesn't respond. "What happened to us, James? We used to be best friends."

"best friends fight." James offers.

"yeah, but not like this. I mean, all the stuff I said to Carlos.. I don't even know why I said it. And you… I mean us fighting almost cost you your life." He says as his voice starts to crack.

"Kendall…" James interrupts.

"No, James. Carlos was right; I haven't been a leader. I was supposed to keep you guys together. And instead, I almost got you killed and Carlos is fighting for his life." He says, now softly sobbing. "Now we're all stuck out here with no way out and I can't do a damn thing about it." James moves to hug his friend, but he moves away.

"Mm, the wires…" Logan's voice suddenly fills the room. Kendall looks up and focuses on Logan. His eyes are still closed, but his lips are moving. Kendall moves towards him.

"What did you say, Logie?"

"The wires.. you need to connect them.." he mutters, still not opening his eyes.

"What wires, Logan?"

"I think he's dreaming." James tells him from behind.

"The radio. Connect the wires…" Logan says before moaning and no longer talking. Kendall looks confused, but his eyes move to the radio.

He slowly gets up and walks to the table. He stares at the power cord of the radio, following it to the radio itself. He follows the wires and then his eyes grow wide. In the back, one of the wires seems to be hanging loosely next to the other, disconnected, stopping the power from reaching the radio…

_Hi!_

_Sorry for the longer wait, I sometimes have difficulty finding inspiration for next chapters. It's mainly because I basically know how I want to end the story, but I have no idea as to how to get there. Slowly, it's coming along and I hope you like it._

_Thank you all again and thanks to JediJen, I completely forgot about Kendall's injury here. Of course it won't just go away. I do want to say that his scratches weren't that bad (if that's even possible :P), so he doesn't have that much blood loss. But thanks for reminding me of this part _

_Anyway, stay tuned for a new chapter soon and I am trying to develop some new story ideas as well. So if you want to see something happen, let me know, maybe I can add it to this or another story!_

_See ya and Love, Baxxie_


	16. Chapter 16 Contact

Chapter 16 Contact

"Ouch!" Kendall yells out and puts his fingers in his mouth as he accidentally shocks himself yet again. "Stupid radio.." he mutters to himself.

He tries to connect the wires once again and tapes them together. He turns on the radio and tries for a connection.

"Kendall? Is it working yet?" James calls from behind him.

Kendall sighs as he still hears no sound coming from the radio.

"No. And I really thought I connected the wires the right way this time. Stupid piece of junk!" He yells in frustration and hits the radio. Then he slaps the table, whn he suddenly hears a buzz. He looks up and suddenly finds the radio powered on. He nearly cries of happiness.

"James, James!" He shouts out and runs towards the living area, nearly tripping over his own feet. James looks at him with concern. "It's working.. The radio, it's working!" He yells, while throwing his arms in the arm in a cheer. Then, without waiting for James's response, he runs back towards the radio.

He sits down again and tries to keep his breathing in check as he tries to find a right frequency. He grabs the microphone and takes a deep breath. He finds his hands trembling, but knows he has to keep his nerves under control. Slowly he pushes the speak button on the mic, before starting to talk.

"hello? Is anyone there?" He says into the microphone. "Wow, that was lame." He says to himself, before trying again. "This is Kendall Knight. I am a member of Big Time Rush, we got lost and.." He sighs and lets go of the button again. "Too long, Kendall. Keep it short."

"Kendall?" James calls out.

"What?"

"Have you gotten a response yet?"

"Uhm, it doesn't work that fast, James." He chuckles to himself.

"Kendall?"

"What?"

"Please hurry up, I think the storm is starting up again." James' voice tells him nervously, instantly followed by the sky rumbling.

Kendall takes the microphone once again.

"Hello, this is Kendall Knight. Is anyone out there?" He listens for a moment. "Can anyone hear me? This is Kendall Knight, I need help." Still no response. "God, what else can I say?" He mutters to himself.

He waits for a moment, before wanting to speak again. Then he is startled by a loud clap of thunder above the cabin.

"Hello, is anybody there? Please, we need help…" He now pleads into the microphone. He lets his head drop onto the table, when suddenly…

"Hello, this is ranger Will Stanson. What seems to be the problem? Over." Kendall nearly falls off his chair when he hears another voice. He can't help but let tears overwhelm him. "Hello?" He pulls himself together, before taking the microphone again.

"Hello, this is Kendall Knight. Me and my friends got lost while camping and we need help…" He quickly tells the ranger, before adding a quick, "over."

"Kendall Knight? You're with Big Time Rush? Over."

"Uhm, yes, I am. Over." He confirms with some confusion.

"We've been looking for you boys for quite some time now. There are some people here who'll be very happy to hear from you. Are you all alright?" Kendall is stunned to hear this, but is very relieved at the same time. They had come looking for them after all.

"No, we're not. We don't have any food left and…" The entire cabin suddenly lights up with another thunderclap and lightning. "Please, you need to come get us out. Carlos is badly hurt, James' leg is broken and Logan is really sick.. They need to go to the hospital." He says, his voice now starting to crack.

"There are already people looking for you. But I'll inform them of the situation."

"Thank you.. thank you.." Kendall slowly sobs into the microphone.

"Everything is going to be fine, Kendall. Can you tell me your exact location?"

"Uhm, we found an old cabin up north.." Suddenly the radio starts to buzz very loudly. "Hello?"

"Ke…ll, ca…he….me?" The ranger's voice is mixed with so much static, Kendall can no longer make out any sentences.

"No, no…" Kendall pleads and starts to hit the radio. Then lightning lights up the room once more, combined with a loud BOOM. Suddenly the entire cabin is hulled in darkness. "No, oh god no… please, not now.. not now!" Kendall sobs as he tries to turn the radio on.

"Kendall?" James voice calls out again. "The power is out.."

"No.." He sobs and hangs his head while he sobs. Then in a frustrated yell he throws the radio to the floor with a loud crash.

"What happened? Kendall?" James calls out. His voice starts to sound scared. Kendall sits for another moment, before wiping his eyes and putting up a brave face. He heads into the living area, careful not to trip over anyone. "Kendall?" James' voice now sounds near to him and softer.

"I'm here, james."

"I heard you talking. Did you get in touch with anyone?"

"Yeah, I did. They're looking for us, James."

"That's great!" James cries out. "Finally! So, when will they be here?" Kendall doesn't respond.

"Where are the flashlights?" Is his only answer.

"I'm not sure, maybe in your bag. When will they be here, Kendall?" James asks again, more hesitant this time.

"Really soon, James. Really soon." Kendall says, hoping James can't hear the lie coming from his mouth. He doesn't know how to break the news that they may never be found.

_Sorry for a shorter chapter than usual. It was longer, but the rest seemed to fit better in a separate chapter, so watch out for that one!_

_Anyway, hope you liked it! Let me know what you think in a review and thank you again for all the ones I received so far _

_Love, Baxxie_


	17. Chapter 17 Come Together

Chapter 17 Come Together

Kendall starts to feel his way around the cabin, looking for a flashlight. He gets on his hands and knees and searches for his own bag. Finally after feeling around for some time, he finds the bag. And finally, a flashlight as well. He turns it on, squinting his eyes at the sudden brightness.

"Kendall?" Another voice suddenly finds him in the dark. He quickly scrambles to the location of the voice.

"Logan? Are you okay?" He is careful not to shine the flashlight into his friend's eyes. But when the flashlight hits his face, he can tell his eyes are closed anyway. His face looks very pale, while his teeth seem to be chattering.

"I'm s-s-so c-cold." Kendall feels very worried as he can feel the heat radiating from his friend.

"James, do we have anymore blankets?"

"I don't know." James replies in an equally concerned sounding voice.

Suddenly a moan coming from the other couch has Kendall scrambling further.

"Carlos?" No response is heard, but Kendall notices his breathing sounds ragged. He feels for a pulse and feels scared when it takes him long to find one. It's there, but weaker than it should be.

"I really hope they come rescue us soon.." James sounds.

"Yeah, me too.." Kendall replies softly. "Both of them need to be warmed up. Carlos has lost so much blood, his breathing doesn't sound good. And Logan's fever is worse. At least, I think it is."

"But we don't have anymore blankets." James exclaims.

"I know." Kendall replies. "But we have each other…" He suddenly mentions.

"What do you mean?"

"Just lie still. I'm going to carry both of them and lay them next to you. Then I'll lie down on the other side. We can keep each other warm. We have to keep them warm."

"Kendall, I'm not sure we should move them…"

"We have to.. They need to stay warm. And frankly, I'm starting to feel cold, too."

"Please don't tell me you're getting sick too now.."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't as well. I mean, we were out in the rain for who knows how long. We never changed clothes, we haven't had a lot of food in the last few days.. And this cabin isn't exactly radiating heat. Now hold the flashlight, so I can see what I'm doing." James sighs, but takes the flashlight from his friend and follows his moves.

Kendall moves to Carlos first. He takes a deep breath, before placing his arms underneath his back and legs carefully. He slowly starts to move, immediately eliciting a moan from his younger friend.

"I'm sorry, buddy. But I have to do this. It's the only way I can keep you warm." He slowly picks him up and carries him towards James, trying to ignore the whimpering coming from the bundle in his arms. He carefully lays him down next to James and then covers him with a blanket. James immediately scoots as close to him as he can, careful not to move his own leg too much.

Kendall now moves over to Logan, also starting to pick him up.

"Kendall? Where are we going?" Logan asks him in a confused delirious voice.

"Someplace warm, Logie." He tells him and carries him towards Carlos and James, carefully laying him down as well. He grabs another blanket and covers Logan with it, before lying down next to him. "Better?" He asks, as he makes sure he is closely nuzzled next to his friend.

"Uhuh… You're warm.. Less cold now.. sleepy.." Logan responds, before falling back into a deep slumber.

Pretty soon all is silent inside the cabin, except for the occasional moan from Logan and the soft ragged breathing coming from Carlos. Outside the storm is raging on, the sky lighting up every few minutes, claps of thunder making the foursome jump every so often.

James and Kendall lie in silence, the storm keeping them awake as well as their worries for their friends.

"mmm…" A whimper is suddenly heard from Carlos. James holds on to him as he starts to toss and turn. He suddenly yelps as he twist his body, painfully moving his abdomen as well. Then he gasps loudly as his eyes fly open.

"Shh, it's okay, Carlos." James softly tells him.

"Jamie?" He croaks, followed by a violent cough. He shuts his eyes and keeps them closed when the coughing subsides.

"Carlos?" He asks, voice filled with fear. Carlos doesn't answer, but keeps his eyes squeezed shut as he breathes heavily. "Carlos?" James asks again, a little louder this time. Kendall sits up halfway when Carlos still doesn't respond. "Carlos, please answer me.. " James pleads, with fresh tears starting to fall.

"It h-hurts…" Carlos barely manages to get out, before softly starting to cry. Kendall looks on in the darkness, as James pulls Carlos closer and tries to comfort him by whispering soothing words. Seeing his friend has everything covered, Kendall lies back down, staring into the dark.

"Where's Kendall?" Carlos suddenly whispers. Kendall shoots up, careful not to move Logan.

"I'm right here, buddy." He answers. He can barely see Carlos moving his head towards him.

"K-Kenny… I'm sorry…" Kendall can barely contain his own tears as he hears Carlos' childlike voice.

"For what?" He whispers, not trusting his voice to sound calm.

"For acting like an idiot.. I don't mean to be so dumb, I guess I just don't always think before I act.." Kendall's heart goes out to his friend. He can feel the guilt overcoming him as tears start to pour down. He gulps.

"No, Carlos.. You're not an idiot." He sniffs.

"You don't have to lie to me, Kenny. I heard the things you said. I shouldn't have interfered when you went after that bear, I got you hurt.."

"Stop.. just stop apologizing.. I'm the one that's sorry. You saved my life three times during this trip. I shouldn't have called you stupid, because you're not. You're an amazing friend and I've taken you for granted. I should have been looking out for you, as a good leader should. If I had, you would be fine right now.." he pauses for a moment. "I'm sorry for fighting with you guys…" he says, now addressing James as well. "I haven't been a very good friend lately, have I? I know, I've been spending too much time with Jo lately and I just…" he keeps on going, sobbing as he does.

"Kenny, it's okay.." Carlos manages to say, a lot of pain evident in his voice again.

"I think none of us have been very good friends lately. Well, except for Carlos. I'm sorry, too…" James softly adds.

"I'd hug you guys, if it didn't hurt this much." Carlos softly croaks, earning some laughter from the other boys. It quickly dies down as Carlos starts to cough again. When the coughing stops, he gasps as he tries to catch his breath.

"Carlos?" James asks in concern once again.

"I'm okay…" He gets out between gasps. "You know, I'm really g-glad we went on this trip… I've…m-missed… you…guys.." James and Kendall watch in concern as he takes a breath after each word. "I…love…you..guys.."

"we love you too, Carlos." James can see Carlos smile in the dark. He watches as his friend shuts his eyes and falls into oblivion. His breathing is becoming labored. James holds him close and silently cries.

"James?" Kendall whispers. James doesn't respond, he starts to sob, trying not to make a sound.

"I don't want him t-to d-die…" he quietly sobs.

"No one is going to die, Jamie.. They're going to be fine. We're going to be rescued real soon, you'll see.." James doesn't respond. Kendall lies back down, holding on to Logan, and slowly falling asleep with the sound of quiet sobbing in the background.

_A while later…_

"Hey, look! There's a cabin over there." An unknown voice starts to shout.

"What happened to the porch?" Another voice states.

A flashlight shines through the window, suddenly casting a glow on four sleeping figures on the floor.

"Guys, over here, I think we found them!"

_Hi! Sorry for the long wait. I wanted to update sooner, but I just started my internship this past week and haven't been able to finish the chapter until now._

_I hope you liked it! Please let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for new stories, also let me know. I want to write more!_

_Thank you for all your reviews and until next time!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	18. Chapter 18 Discovered

Chapter 18 Discovered

Kendall is off in dreamland, keeping a tight hold on Logan, when he suddenly feels him being pulled away.

"No.. need to keep him warm.." he mutters in his sleep. He vaguely becomes aware of voices and the tugging on Logan grows stronger. He slowly wakes up.

In the darkness, he can see blurry shapes. His eyes widen as Logan is taken away from him.

"No.. Wait, no! Don't take him!" he tries to fight the shapes, but strong hands hold him off.

"Calm down, son." He blinks again, while struggling against the strong arms holding him back.

"No, Logan!" He screams. "Let go of me.. you can't take him! Logan!"

All the screaming has James waking up as well.

"What's going on?" He sleepily asks, when suddenly he is slowly being pulled off the floor and put on a stretcher. He looks around with wide eyes as he is being wheeled away from his friends. "Wait, where am I going? I need to stay with my friends. Carlos needs me.." he mutters. Then he sees Kendall struggling against two big guys. Tears are streaming down his face as he is screaming to get to Logan.

"Kendall!" He yells out to his friend. Kendall looks up quickly.

"James.. James, they won't let me get to Logan…" He nearly pleads. "We have to do something."

Soon the cabin is swarming with people. James hisses as someone touches his leg.

"Sorry, kid. Hey, this one has a pretty nasty leg wound. Get him outside!" A male voice calls from beside him.

"What?" He calls out, but then he feels the gurney starting to move outside. "No, wait, you can't.. My friends, I can't leave them.. Who the hell are you people?" He asks in a panicky voice.

"Calm down, James. Everything is going to be fine." A soothing female voice sounds next to him. He looks at her and suddenly the realization kicks in.

"Oh my god, you're here to save us.. " He asks, his voice in a near whisper. The female paramedic nods at him with a sympathetic smile. "kendall! Kendall, it's okay.. It's the paramedics, they finally came!" He shouts back to his friend, tears streaming down his face out of relief and happiness.

But then he hears the one thing that made everything stop and go in slow motion.

"This one's not breathing!" A male paramedic shouts. "There's no pulse!"

Kendall and James both turn their heads to the floor. Paramedics suddenly rush through the cabin, dragging equipment with them. A defibrillator is placed on the floor. Even the paramedic next to James seems to be holding her breath, while she puts a comforting hand on his arm.

"Clear!" A beeping sound is heard from the defibrillator and then a shock. James and Kendall watch in heart-wrenching silence as their friend's body lifts from the floor and falls back down. The paramedics check his pulse, but start up the machine again.

The two friends hold their breath as everything around them becomes blurry. Their only focus is on the person on the floor. How did they not notice? How could they have fallen asleep? His face looks ashen, lips turned blue.

Again his body lifts from the ground as he is shocked by the machine. Nothing. Time goes by very slowly as the paramedics try again and again. But no change seems to come from the small form on the floor.

"Come on, Jason. It's over.." One paramedic tells another as he puts a hand on his shoulder. 'Jason' just shakes his head and keeps trying CPR.

"No, he is way too young. Come on, kid." He says as he keeps trying. His colleagues give the boys a sympathetic look, before starting to pull Jason away.

The paramedics holding on to Kendall have let go, he never even noticed when. His face has turned completely white and he starts to sink to his knees as he still watches his still friend.

James' lip starts to quiver. He has turned as pale as Kendall, watching with wide eyes.

"No.." He whispers. "This can't be happening.. Come on, come on.." He pleads in a whisper. But his voice starts to crack as tears keep coming when his friend doesn't move. He starts to sob when Jason finally lets his shoulders slump. "No, you can't give up… He's not dead, he can't be dead!" He starts to scream.

The female paramedic next to him tries to comfort him, but he pushes her off.

"Nooo… You have to save him, you have to save him…" He pleads while sobbing. He clutches to the paramedics jacket, while not taking his eyes off his best friend.

Kendall can't make a sound. He stares at the lifeless body of his best friend before him in horror. He can hear James screaming and sobbing in the distance. He knows he should go and comfort him, but he seems to be frozen to the spot.

A gurney with his final friend rushes past him. He feels worry for his unconscious friend. But he is alive. He is getting help. The boy in front of him can't be saved anymore. He's gone. No more BTR, the four hockey-players from Minnesota. Now it's only three left.

Strong arms start to pull him up. He doesn't even struggle. He doesn't acknowledge them. He just keeps his eyes on his best friend. Dead, because he fell asleep. He was the leader, their protector. And he fell asleep…

James's screaming is moving into the distance. Another friend being saved and moved to the ambulance outside. Or helicopter. Whatever way of transport available. The point being, he will be fine. He is in good hands now.

He is slowly being led outside. He doesn't stop anyone. That is, until he seems them putting a sheet over his best friend. That's when he loses it.

He snaps up and runs towards the male paramedic holding the sheet. He jumps on him, hitting wherever he can.

Other paramedics rush over to pry Kendall off, but he holds on tightly, unleashing all his anger on the person who tried to hide his friend from the world. Like he didn't exist anymore.

Finally, it takes four paramedics to pull Kendall off their colleague and onto the floor. He struggles wildly, but they won't let him go. Eventually he just breaks down crying.

When the men figure out he is done fighting, they let him go. They share a look and then leave Kendall in peace as he slowly crawls to the still body on the floor. His whole body is shaking as he buries his face into his chest, sobbing loudly and clutching his shirt until his knuckled turn white.

"I am so sorry, Carlos… I am so sorry…" He sobs. He is so much into his own world, he doesn't notice the chest he lies on, slowly starts to move…

_Hi! Sorry for the long wait! I've been busy with my internship. I have the weekend off again, so I'll try to write more now._

_Also I apologize for a shorter chapter than usual. I am always better writing the parts with the angst itself than the rescue and hospital stay. So, if you guys have any suggestions for this, let me know _

_Thanks for all the reviews and favorite alerts and stuff, I'm really grateful for them!_

_I'll try to update again soon, but I might update my other stories faster. I have loads of ideas for new stories as well, so might try to set something up again._

_Anyway, hope you like the chapter and until next time!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	19. Chapter 19 Road to Recovery

Chapter 19 Road to recovery

Kendall is still bawling his eyes out, clutching his best friend's shirt, when two strong arms try to pry him away. He just holds on tightly, shaking his head. He will never let go.

"Come on, son, we need to get you to the hospital as well." A male voice sounds in his ears.

He just shakes his head again, starts to scream when more force is put behind the pull.

"Just leave him, Jeffries. Let him say goodbye." Another voice sounds. Then suddenly the pair of arms let go.

He is aware of the cabin becoming even quieter than it already was. Everyone has left. That's fine, he wants to be alone with Carlos. He doesn't need anyone else.

That's when he hears an audible gasp from the doorway.

"Carlos…" A cracking male voice shakes him from his daze and he slowly lifts his head towards the doorway.

"Mr. Garcia?" He croaks and squints his eyes. His body racks with more sobs as he finds the usually strong officer Garcia, standing in the doorway, looking broken as he sees his son. He slowly walks over in silence and drops to his knees. He doesn't say a word.

"Mr. Garcia… I am so sorry…" Kendall sobs as he slowly lets go of Carlos to give his father room to hold his son. But officer Garcia immediately grabs a hold of Kendall, pulling him into a hug. Kendall freezes at the unexpected touch. But soon, he buries himself in Mr. Garcia's hold as sobs rack his body. "I'm sorry… I am so sorry…"

"It's okay, Kendall, it's not your fault.." He whispers to the blond haired boy, whom he always saw as another son. Just part of the family, like the other two best friends who had been by Carlos' side since the beginning.

He keeps his eyes on the still form of his son, the once so bubbly and kind soul that had been taken away form them. It just wasn't fair. He was too young for this. Never again would they hear his infectious laughter, look at the ways his eyes lit up like a child every so often. A silent tear then drops down his cheek. He closes his eyes, slowly reopening them as his eyes fill up with water.

But then, he witnesses something that makes him blink rapidly and watch closer. Did he imagine it? Or did he really see his son's hand move?

"Carlos…" He quietly mentions, while keeping his stare on the form on the floor. Kendall looks up at him with watery eyes. He becomes slightly confused when officer Garcia's eyes hold a confused look. He forces himself to look at his friend again.

There he suddenly witnesses something he thought he would never see again. Carlos' hand moves ever so slightly. If he blinked, he would've missed it. Then he finally catches on to another movement, one he can't believe he noticed sooner. He silently watches the chest slowly rising and falling.

"Oh my god…" He whispers with a smile appearing through his tears. Then e scrambles to his feet, his mother jumps up, catching him as he unsteadily starts to move. "Someone, anyone, get in here!" He shouts to anyone that might hear him.

One of the paramedics rushes in, giving him a confused look.

"He's breathing.. Carlos is breathing.." He quietly tells him, pointing to his friend. The paramedic give him a sympathetic smile and then softly grabs him by the shoulders.

"Come on, let's get you to the hospital." Kendall's eyes grow confused.

"No, wait. You have to help him first. He's breathing. I saw it." He tells the man, fighting his form now trying to lead him outside.

The man just nods. "I know this is hard, but he would have wanted you to get help, too." Kendall struggles out of his grasp, running back to Carlos.

"No, help him first! He is breathing, damn it, just check it for yourself!" He yells in frustration.

"Did you not hear him? My son is breathing! Now go and help or I will force you to!" Officer Garcia warns, putting a death grip on the man's shoulder, telling him he means it.

The paramedic's eyes go wide, before he rushes towards the raven haired boy on the floor. He sits on his knees and puts his ear next to his mouth. He looks up with a confused look and then quickly puts his head on his chest. He looks at Kendall with wide eyes, who is smiling widely in return.

"Jeffries, get a gurney in here, the kid's breathing again!" Kendall wants to open his mouth in protest to the 'kid' remark, but he knows there are more important things now. He watches as paramedics rush in with a gurney, each one amazed by the fact that he was really alive. A breathing mask is quickly placed on his face as he is carefully strapped onto the gurney and wheeled outside.

Kendall rushes after them, before his knees suddenly buckle underneath him. He braces himself for falling, but is confused when he is caught by two strong arms. He looks up into the kind eyes of Mr. Garcia.

"It's okay, I've got you, Kendall. Everything is going to be okay. You can let go now.." His voice starts to move into the distance as Kendall's vision begins to swim. Soon he welcomes the darkness, giving in to his own needs…

Kendall is soon also strapped to a gurney, whisked away to be treated.

Mr. Garcia steps out of the cabin, worn out, tired eyes as he tries to keep his emotions at bay. His eyes scan the area, looking for the paramedics that took his son away.

"Antonio!" He whips his head around to see Karen Knight and her daughter Katie rushing towards him. "Is it true? Is it really them?" He nods as the woman pulls him into a hug.

"Oh, thank god.." She smiles widely, but it fades as she sees the worn out look on his face. "What's wrong? Are they okay? Oh god, Kendall…" She chokes on a sudden sob.

"Kendall is alright. They just took him away to the hospital. I didn't see James or Logan, but I talked to the paramedics. Apparently Logan is very ill and he needs treatment very soon, while James was okay, but his leg is broken and his foot was badly injured as well. They're all tired and haven't had proper food in a while."

"Oh, thank god.." She sighs with another smile. But again it fades when she realizes something. "How's Carlos?" Antonio Garcia sighs deeply, making her look even more concerned. "What? How is he?"

"When I got here, they told me he was.." He stops midsentence, not willing to go any further. He looks down. "They lost him.." Karen Knight gasps loudly, Katie doing the same. She had been so quiet all this time, he almost forgot she was there. "I walked into the cabin and Kendall was on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, hanging on to Carlos for dear life. I just.. I never thought I'd have to live a moment like that.. He was so still, so pale.. I grabbed on to Kendall, and then I saw it.. He was moving.. It was hardly noticeable, but he was moving.." He adds with a smile. He doesn't even notice the tears rolling down his cheeks.

Karen and Katie listen on in awe, their own tears spilling down their faces as they can't believe the moments that went on just minutes before. They had almost lost Carlos. No, they had lost him. And then he was alive again.. It was so much to handle.

"Is he okay?" Katie sniffles.

"No, I don't think he is.. But he will be. He's my boy, a fighter, always has been." He says with a slight chuckle, seeming to think of a memory.

"Where is he now? And where's Kendall?"

"Don't worry, Karen. They're okay. The paramedics are taking all of them to the hospital. I suggest we go there, too." Officer Garcia puts his arms around the woman and her daughter, slowly leading them away from the cabin and towards the road to recovery…

_Hi! Again, sorry for the long wait. Not much happened in the chapter, but I didn't just want to skip ahead ;)_

_Anyway, I'll try to update the next chapter sooner, but I am still busy with my internship. And I want to update my other stories as well. I have more than one new stories in my head, one other angsty one involving all the guys, involving even more whumpage than this one. But I'll finish this one first, before I write too many stories at once. Don't want to have to stop any ;)_

_Hope you liked this chapter, happy to read all the reviews and favorite alerts. Hope you like my other stories as well, please let me know what you once again _

_Also, thanks to GleeClueRock1251 for the extra support and offerings of help, I definitely appreciate it!_

_See y'all later! Love, Baxxie_


	20. Chapter 20 Blinding rooms

Chapter 20 Blinding rooms…

Darkness has engulfed him. His mind seems to be scrambled as he swims back to the surface. His chest starts to hurt, making him painfully aware that he is conscious again.

He slowly opens his eyes, blinking rapidly against the sudden light. Then he winces, his entire body aches. He looks down and sees his entire chest wrapped up in white bandages, covering up the slashes hidden underneath.

"Kendall, you're awake!" A relieved voice sounds somewhere near him. He looks around, trying to regain focus on his surroundings. "Over here, man."

He looks to his right, where he finds James smiling brightly and waving. He looks down where James' leg is in a cast all the way up to his hip.

"It's nice, right? Dude, I can totally work this look. What do you think?" Kendall opens his mouth to say something, but is too confused to comment.

"He's high on pain meds." Another voice sounds to his left.

"Katie?" He quietly asks, suddenly overcome with emotions as he pulls her into a tight hug.

"Hey, big brother. I missed you, too." He lets go with a smile, but she suddenly punches him in the arm.

"What was that for?"

"That is for being an idiot and making everyone worry!"

"I'm already in pain here!"

"That's what the pain button is for, brother. It's on your right." She says with a smile. He looks and softly pushes it. Soon, he starts to feel better as the medication kicks in. He goes to push again, when Katie interrupts him. "Just don't push it too much, you don't want to end up like him." She warns, pointing to James, who is checking his reflection in a bedpan.

"Hey, you're awake." His mother's soft tone makes him look up. His eyes start to tear up as he is very much aware of what happened these last days. "Oh, honey.." Jennifer Knight pulls her son into a tight embrace as he sobs. "I'm so glad you're okay." She whispers in soothing tones.

Then a thought hits him. "Wait.. where's Logan?" He asks with fear in his voice.

"The doctors are still taking care of him. He was pretty sick when we found you. His fever ran up really high. He's taking an ice bath right now to get his fever down." She tells him, soothing him by stroking his head.

"Is he going to be okay?" Mrs. Knight is shocked at the voice which sounds frighteningly small, like a child. She pulls him into another hug.

"He's going to be just fine, sweetie."

"And Carlos?" The question makes her freeze right away. Kendall pulls himself out of her grasp. "Mom, what about Carlos?" He asks, looking her straight in the eyes. She tries to avoid him. He gulps as he fears the worst. "Oh god.."

"No..I.." She starts, feeling guilty for making him even more worried. "He's in surgery right now. The doctors are trying to remove the piece of wood."

He looks at his hands as he remembers how the wood got there in the first place.

"Will he be okay?" He asks, not looking up from his hands. Mrs. Knight looks at her daughter, who looks as frightened as Kendall.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, honey. This is Carlos we're talking about. He's got a lot of spirit in him. He'll be fine. Just fine." She repeats the last sentence enough, trying to convince everyone in the room, including herself, that it's true.

Honestly, she knows it's not looking good. According to the boy's father, they lost him again twice since they found him. Once, on the way here and another time on the operating table. Getting the piece of wood out was not exactly easy. No surgery is of course, but apparently it is in very deep and some parts of the wood already splintered. They had to be vey careful to remove every single piece and not leave anything behind, else it might cause an infection, which could be fatal.

So much information had already been shared with her, but none that she could share with her son right now. He just woke up, they just found him. It will have to wait. She just hopes the energetic boy pulls through the surgery. She can't imagine what life would be like without his infectious smile lighting up the room wherever he goes. No, she can't think like that. He's okay, he's going to be fine…

"Mom?" She looks up at the concerned glances of her children. She smiles.

"Logan and Carlos will both be just fine. You'll see, they'll pull through this." Kendall tries a small smile himself, but it never reaches his eyes.

"Hey look, it's Logan!" James cheerfully announces. "Hi, Logan!" He waves. Kendall, Katie and Jennifer Knight all look up to see Logan being wheeled in. He is soaking wet, twisting and turning into the sheets. A breathing mask is placed over his mouth.

He still looks very pale, with the exception of his cheeks, which are flushed.

"Logan…" Kendall whispers under his breath. He stares at his friend with tears in his eyes, hen suddenly his eyes open very slowly. Kendall smiles. "Hey.." He quietly says.

He is relieved when Logan's eyes meet his and even though barely visible, a small smile forms on his lips.

"Doctor, how is he?" Mrs. Knight suddenly asks the doctor, who is staring into his medical chart. The nurses hook Logan up to different machines.

"Well, the ice bath did the trick. His fever broke." He says with a kind smile. Mrs. Knight smiles with relief.

"Why does he need a breathing mask?" Kendall asks.

"Well, this virus took a lot out of him. The mask is helping him breathe easier and relax. He just needs to rest now. We'll be keeping a close eye on him, he's not out of the woods just yet. But he kept yelling for his friends, so we thought it might be better to let him share the room with you."

Kendall looks around the room, realizing something. "Hey, there isn't enough place in here for all four of us."

"What do you mean?" The doctor asks.

"Well, we need room for another bed for when Carlos gets out. He'll get lonely all alone in a room." The doctor shares a look with Mrs. Knight.

"Honey, I think Carlos won't be well enough to stay in a normal room with you guys." Mrs. Knight carefully starts.

"But Logan is here, and he's not doing that good either."

"Yeah, but he's already doing a lot better. His fever broke and now they just need to wait for the virus to clear." Kendall still doesn't look like he agrees. "Look, why don't we wait for him to get out of surgery and then we'll see, okay?" Kendall hesitantly nods.

Mrs. Knight stands up and kisses the top of Kendall's head. "Get some rest. I'm going to see how Carlos' dad is doing." She starts to walk out of the room.

"See ya later, big brother." Katie surprises him by grabbing him in a tight hug. "I'm really glad you're okay." She whispers, before letting go. He smiles at her and watches her leave the room as well.

Kendall turns his head back to Logan, but his friend is fast asleep. Disappointed, he turns to the other side. There he finds James, staring at him in a much too cheerful grin.

"You really need to stay away from that pain button."

"What pain button? We have a pain button?" James announces, looking around quickly. Kendall's mouth opens in shock. Yep, his friend has lost his mind.

He turns his head to the ceiling, staring at the white tiles. After a while his eyes feel droopy and soon he succumbs to the darkness once again.

Mr. Garcia is sitting in the waiting room, staring at the double doors that lead to his son. He has been sitting there for nearly two hours, never once looking away.

"Here." He is almost shocked out of his trance as he sees Jennifer Knight, holding a steaming cup of coffee. He slowly takes it and turns his eyes to the double doors again.

"Thanks." He says in a monotone voice.

"Thought you might like some company."

"Uhuh."

"So uhm, heard anything?"

"Not yet."

"Okay." Silence. "So, Kendall woke up."

"Really? That's great." He says, sounding uninterested. Jennifer decides to continue anyway.

"Yeah, he was so happy to see us. Oh and Logan was wheeled in, his fever broke. He's not all better yet, but it's a start." She says with a smile.

Suddenly Antonio Garcia stands up. She looks up and sees a doctor with bloody scrubs coming out of the double doors. She quickly gets up as well, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder to show support.

The doctor looks exhausted as he walks towards them. He sighs deeply, while they brace themselves for whatever he has to say.

"I am very sorry, we did everything we could…"

_Yeah, I am mean, aren't I? _

_Sorry if this chapter went a bit fast with everyone besides Carlos suddenly being okay. Well, sort of anyway. I'm just never good with hospital stuff, because the medical info is just difficult to figure out._

_I hope you guys still liked it, let me know what you think._

_Thanks for all the support with the reviews and favorite alerts, keeps me motivated a lot!_

_See ya later!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	21. Chapter 21 Answers

Chapter 21 Answers

"I'm very sorry… we did everything we could.." The doctor tells Mr. Garcia and Mrs. Knight. He wants to go on, but is interrupted by a loud gasp by Mrs. Knight. She grabs hold of Antonio Garcia, whose face drains of color.

"Oh, god.."

"Mr. Garcia.." The doctor starts.

"I can't believe this. You let him die? You let my boy die?" He cries out and gets out of his chair. He almost goes to attack the doctor, but Mrs. Knight pulls him back.

"Mr. Garcia!" the doctor loudly yells, making the two look at him. "What I meant was we tried everything we could, but we couldn't remove all the pieces of wood."

Antonia shares a look with Jennifer Knight. "Wait, he's not.."

The doctor shakes his head. "No, he is alive. But he will need a second surgery so we can remove the last pieces of wood. He is being moved to the ICU right now so we can monitor him and make sure he doesn't develop an infection. The next 48 hours are going to be critical. Your son is a strong fighter, Mr. Garcia. You should be very proud of him."

"Can I see him?"

"He's being moved right now. But once he is ready to receive visitors, I'll have the nurse come and get you."

Antonio smiles and shakes the doctor's hand. "Thank you so much." The doctor just nods and turns around, leaving the two alone again. Immediately they grab each other in a hug.

"I can't believe it. He's going to be okay.."

"Antonio, that's not what the doctor said.." Jennifer sadly reminds him.

"I know. But like he said, my boy is a fighter. He'll get through the next 48 hours. He'll be fine." He tells her, trying to reassure himself as much as her.

_An hour later in the ICU…_

Antonio Garcia walks through the hallways with lead in his shoes. He has never been so scared in his life. Not even when that one time he came face to face with a robber, who held a gun to his chest. He came close to dying that day, and he had been scared. But this, this was different. Carlos was always accident prone, so he had been hurt before as well. But it never went further than broken bones, which healed in six weeks time or less or a concussion, which past in about a week.

No, he is about to face the worst moment in his life. Opening the door, his breath quickens as he sees his energetic boy lying pale and still in a hospital bed. There are wires everywhere, hooked up to machines that keep a close eye on al his vital signs. The sounds of the heart machine and the respirator, which helps Carlos breath sound deafening to him.

He slowly walks towards the bed and slides into a chair beside his son. His eyes are closed as if he was just sleeping. Innocent, but no life to be noticed, besides his chest rising every so often. A thick bandage covers his abdomen, keeping a large wound hidden from view.

He grabs his son's hand and tries not to break down right then and there. How he wishes his wife was with him right now. He could've used her strength to pull him through it.

"Hey, son.." He quietly says. "I heard the surgery went well.. Well, at least they got most of the wood out. But you probably don't want to hear about that. Everyone's okay now.. Kendall, James and Logan are in one room together. They're doing fine. Well, Kendall and James are. Logan is still getting over his virus. But Mrs. Knight told me he was awake for a moment. They asked about you. I guess you'll have to get better soon. Then you can move into that room with them. You boys had quite the adventure, huh?" He puts his head into his hands. Why can't he figure out what to say? He is just not good at this.

"We all need you, Carlos. Life just isn't as much fun as it should be without you. Just keep fighting, okay? I am right here for you. I…" His voice cracks and he can't go on. "I love you, mijo… just be alright…" He whispers before he starts to sob.

_24 hours later…_

Kendall is sitting up in his bed watching TV when his mom walks in with cards and balloons. He smiles.

"Hey mom."

"Hi, sweetie." She smiles back and kisses his cheek. She then goes to hang up the cards and balloons with the large pile of other get well gifts in the room.

"More gifts?"

"Yep. Your fans really miss you." He smiles at the thought of them caring so much. Suddenly a scream is heard on his right. He turns his head to see James freaking out in his sleep. He moves to get out of bed, but one look from his mother makes him stop. She quickly moves to his bed.

"James, honey? Wake up. It's just a nightmare."

"No…. Carlos!" He yells out, before jumping upright in bed. He is gasping and sweat and tears roll down his face. Mrs. Knight carefully grabs his shoulder.

"Calm down, shh. It was just a dream." He looks at her, before starting to sob. She pulls him into a hug, gently rubbing his back.

"He died… Carlos died.." He whimpers. Kendall looks down at his hands dejectedly, very vividly remembering the moment James is referring to. He too has been dreaming of it, but is much better at hiding it.

"Mom?" He quietly asks. She looks up from James, who is no longer sobbing, just sniffing now. "How is Carlos doing?"

She sighs. "No improvement yet. He hasn't woken up yet."

"But that doesn't mean bad news, right? He still has 24 hours."

"Technically speaking, not waking up could mean someone is still healing. So it could be considered a good thing." Kendall and James look to their left in surprise, but grin widely very soon.

"Logie!" They yell in unison. Both want to hurry out of their beds, but another look from Mrs. Knight makes them stay put.

"Hey guys.." Logan sleepily smiles back from his bed.

"We owe you a hug. But we're so happy you're awake!" Kendall smiles.

"How do you feel?"

"Okay, I guess. A little dizzy though. How did we get here?" He suddenly asks, looking around in confusion.

"You mean, you don't remember?" Kendall asks in concern, his smile now completely vanished. He looks back at James, who supports the same look.

"No.. I remember feeling bad in the cabin and…" His eyes go wide. "Oh god, Carlos.. Where's Carlos?" He asks, now starting to panic. Mrs. Knight quickly rushes to his side.

"Calm down, sweetie. You're still recovering."

"Where's Carlos? Why isn't he in here with us? Is he okay?" He asks, looking everyone in the eye. Kendall looks down at his hands, while James grabs a button next to him on the bed, frantically pushing it until a vague smile appears on his face.

"Carlos is in the Intensive Care. They removed the wooden beam and right now he's recovering."

"So he's alive?"

"Yes, honey, he's alive." Logan smiles, visibly relaxing a little.

"Yeah, but he could still die." Kendall quietly mutters.

"Kendall!" Mrs. Knight sternly hisses.

"What? It's true, isn't it? He is fighting for his life right now. The doctor said the next 48 hours were critical. It's been 24 and he hasn't woken up yet." He says with a scowl. Logan's eyes go wide again. Mrs. Knight glares at her son.

"He is going to be fine. You know Carlos, he's strong. He'll pull through this." She says with a smile for Logan, trying to get him to relax again. He smiles back, but this time it's not a convincing smile anymore. Mrs. Knight gives Kendall another glare, but he is looking at the TV again.

"Hey Logan!" James suddenly yells. "You should push that button on your right. It makes you feel amazing.." He says with a loud sigh in content.

Logan raises an eyebrow and sends a questioning look towards Kendall. Without looking at him, Kendall answers.

"He's been getting high on his pain meds."

Logan eyes the button on his right, but quickly shoves it out of his mind as James now loudly starts to hum "Big Night". He lets himself fall back into his pillow, closing his eyes fro a moment. But he shoot back up as James suddenly starts to yell the words out loud, before humming quietly again. Logan quickly pushes the button as far away from himself as possible.

Hi ya! Sorry I scared everyone! I just had to do that.

So, Logan is awake but can't remember a lot, James is hooked on drugs, Kendall is starting to feel multiple emotions at once and Carlos is fighting to stay alive. What will happen?

I bet you all wonder what is going on with the other parents. They will be making an appearance soon though. Hope you liked the chapter, let me know.

Thank you all for the great reviews and story alerts and stuff, I'm really grateful!

On to the next chapter…

Love, Baxxie


	22. Chapter 22 Reunited

Chapter 22 Reunited

_Another 24 hours later…_

In the boys' hospital room, Logan is sitting up and watching the Discovery Channel, eyes drooping shut every few seconds. He sometimes glances over at Kendall, who keeps tossing and turning. His face holds a scowl. Suddenly his eyes shoot open.

"That is it!" He yells as he proceeds to sit up. Logan looks confused as he watches him proceed to get out of bed.

"What are you doing?" He quietly asks.

"I am sick of being stuck in this bed. I feel just fine and I want to go see Carlos." He says matter-of-factly, while getting ready to rip out his IV.

"Mr. Knight." Another voice warningly introduces himself into the room. Kendall looks up with wide eyes as he sees his doctor walk in. "I see you're feeling a lot better."

"Doctor Jackson, what brings you in here?" Kendall says with a nervous giggle.

"I do believe I'm your doctor." The man says with a warm smile. "You were going somewhere?" He asks, pointing to the half pulled out IV.

"What? Oh, this?" Kendall says, waving it away with an innocent look. "No, it was just a little tight." He says, getting back into bed.

The doctor smiles again, before picking up Kendall's chart and looking through it, nodding sometimes and aha-ing. Kendall shares a look with Logan, but he just shrugs. When the doctor puts the chart down again, he looks at Kendall. Kendall gives an expecting look.

"Well?"

"I see your making good progress. If this stays the same, you can be released tomorrow." Dr. Jackson says with a smile. Kendall doesn't smile back.

"Oh." He says quietly in a disappointing tone.

"You know, I thought you'd be happy. I mean, that's why you were trying to get out of this room, right? Because you want to go home?"

"Kendall, why aren't you happy? You might be going home tomorrow." Logan adds.

"Yeah, but we were supposed to wait for Carlos." He says in a sad voice.

"You know, I'm sure your friend would just want you all to be okay." The doctor says in a friendly voice.

"I guess so. But since I'm doing so well, can I go see him now?" Kendall looks up with pleading eyes.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." The doctor answers. Kendall lets his shoulders slump.

Suddenly loud female yelling is heard from down the hall. Kendall, Logan and Dr. Jackson look up curiously. James suddenly bolts upright in bed. They all look at him as e slightly trembles.

"Another nightmare?" Kendall asks.

James hastily shakes his head in fear as he pulls the blankets up higher.

"Worse. My mom's here…" He says in a trembling voice before puling the blankets over his head as well. Logan and Kendall's eyes go wide as the voice gets closer.

"Where is he? James? Sweetie? Where is my son?" Brooke Diamond yells as she grabs an orderly by the hem of his shirt. Then she lets go as she suddenly notices Kendall. She marches into the room and Kendall does everything he can to avoid looking her in the eye. "Where is he, Kendall?"

He knows James is terrified of her, they all are. But then he realizes she's just another worried parent. He slowly points to the bed next to him. She walks over to it and starts to pull on the blanket. But James has a tight grip on it.

"Come on, James. Let go of the blanket. James Diamond, you let go of that blanket right now!" She sternly shouts. Kendall and Logan wince, already feeling sorry for their friend. But James slowly pulls the blanket lower, peeking over the edge a little. But when he sees his mom right in front of him, he pulls it up again.

Brooke sighs, before sitting down and crossing her arms.

After a little while, James slowly pulls the blanket down again. But just as he wants to pull it up, his mom puts her hand on his to stop him.

"James, look at me." He refuses to do so and instead starts to push the button next him frantically. He starts to smile, but it turns into a scowl very fast.

"Hey! Why isn't it working? Come on, start working!"

"Oh yeah, the nurse disconnected it yesterday when they found out how much you'd been using it." Kendall mentions with a knowing smile. James lets out a yell.

"No, come on, not now…" He keeps pushing the button, when he is surprised to be enveloped into a hug. A somewhat awkward one and he doesn't quite know what to do. "Mom?" He asks with a lot of confusion.

He gives his friends a look, they both look very shocked.

"Uh, mom?" He asks again and she quickly lets go of him, straightening her clothes immediately. She moves her hand to move away 'tears', but there aren't any.

"Oh, sorry. I guess that cream really did dry up all my tears." James rolls his eyes. "Are you feeling okay, are the doctors here taking good care of you? Because I can get you transferred to private doctors, you'll have the best care, a private room and.."

James interrupts her. "Mom, mom!" She looks at him. "I'm fine. And I don't need a private room, I want to stay with my friends."

"But James.."

"No, mom. I appreciate the gesture, but everything is fine, really." He says with a big smile. Logan and Kendall share a look and raise their eyebrows. Fine, huh? Yeah, right.

"Oh, Hortense, there you are." A male voice pants as he rushes into the hospital room and straight for Logan. "I came as fast as I could."

"Dad?" Logan says with some shock. "What are you doing here?" He asks, while his dad sits beside his bed.

"I heard about what happened, so I came to see you." Logan still looks confused, when suddenly a phone rings. Thomas Mitchell checks his front pocket and looks at his cell phone. "Oh, I have to take this, excuse me."

Logan rolls his eyes. Well, at least he came. That's huge already. He can't expect too much, right?

He looks at Kendall, who gives him a sympathetic smile. He smiles back a little.

_Meanwhile in the ICU…_

Antonio Garcia sits at his son's bedside with tired eyes. He has dark circles under his eyes. 48 hours they had said, those were critical. There had been no improvement, but he hadn't gotten worse either. And that was good, right?

He sighs loudly, running a hand through his short hair. He keeps his eyes on the still form, wishing for it to move. A twitch, a squeeze, anything. But more desperately, he wants his eyelids to move. But just like the past 48 hours, nothing happens.

He clutches his right hand in both his hands tightly, kissing it affectionately.

"God, if your mother could see you now." He says with a smile. "Well, not right now of course. She'd have a complete panic attack." He laughs slightly, but it dies down his throat when no laughter joins him. "You've grown up so much. You're only 16 and I'm already so proud of you. Don't make me lose out on all those other years.. I want to see you become even more famous and meet a girl, get married, have kids.. I just want to be able to see it.." He says, before breaking down again, still clutching his hand.

Suddenly the heart monitor starts to beep faster, making Antonio look up. He looks at his son and sees his eyes scrunched up, as if he's in pain.

"Carlos?" He almost whispers. He stands up slowly when the beeping becomes louder, quickly pushing the call button. "It's going to be okay, son, help is on the way. Just hang on."

A nurse rushes into the room. She takes one look at Carlos' face and the heart monitor, before rushing back out. She doesn't stay away long. When she comes back she holds a syringe and quickly puts it into his IV.

The heart monitor starts to go back to a normal rate and Carlos seems to relax again. Antonio sighs with relief, silently thanking the nurse. She gives him a sympathetic smile.

Then a doctor walks in and starts to check his vital signs, while silently discussing something with the nurse. Antonio watches with interest and some concern, when the doctor turns to him.

"Your son was starting to wake up, which is why his body reacted the way it did. Right now he will be in a lot of pain, mainly because of the small pieces of wood still lodged in his abdomen. The nurse had to give him a sedative for now. But we can't wait much longer with the second surgery. His body might not be able to handle it much longer."

Antonio takes in the information with a lot of concern.

"So, why don't you perform the surgery now?"

"He needs to be stable first. As long as he isn't, his chances of survival during the surgery are very low."

"But he might die if you don't do the surgery.."

The doctor sighs. "Yes. This is a very difficult situation and I promise you we're doing everything we can to save his life. But right now, all we can do is make him feel comfortable."

Make him feel comfortable… That's the same phrase the doctors had used all those years ago. After his wife's accident. 'All we can do now is make her feel comfortable.' And they did, right up until she died.

Yeah, the situation was different, but the fear was still there. What if he didn't make it? He is a strong fighter, but no one can keep up fighting too long. There comes a moment when enough is enough and you have to give in. He wants to believe everything will be fine…

He grabs hold of his son's hand once again and very soon they are alone again. Antonio slowly falls asleep while his thoughts flow through his mind.

He wakes up to multiple sounds in the room. When he opens his eyes, he sees nurses and doctors rushing through the room.

"What's going on?" He asks them.

"We have to take your son into surgery."

"Wait, what? I thought you said he needed to be stable first?" He stands up as the nurses put up Carlos' bed railings.

"Yes, but we can't wait any longer. I came in to check his vital signs about an hour ago and I'm afraid he is starting to develop an infection. Those pieces of wood need to come out now!" The doctor says as he yells out some instructions to the nurses.

"But…" A nurse suddenly takes him by the arm.

"I'm sorry sir, but you're going to have to go into the waiting room."

"But they said he might not survive when he's not stable!" He argues and tries to go back.

"I'm sorry, but you really have to wait out here." The nurse says as she leaves him out in the hallway. He watches with sad eyes as his son is wheeled away again.

He walks into the waiting room where Jennifer Knight looks up in surprise from a cup of coffee.

"Antonio, is everything alright?" She asks in concern and quickly gets up to help the distraught man to a seat.

"they took him into surgery again."

"But that's a good thing, right? They'll remove the last pieces of wood and then he can finally heal."

"Yeah, but they said they couldn't perform the surgery until he was stable. It would be too dangerous. Now they're doing it anyway…" She doesn't respond. "They said he was starting to develop an infection. Said they didn't have a choice. But if he's not stable, the surgery alone might kill him.. I can't lose him, I just can't.." He says, while breaking down. Jen just takes him into her arms and comforts him.

Just then Katie comes in. The sight of Mr. Garcia in his mother's arms is enough to make her start to panic. She looks at her mom, but she just shakes her head. Phew. He's not dead.

After a while, Antonio stops crying and sits up again. He wipes his eyes and looks at Jen.

"Thank you." She just nods at him in understanding. "So, how are the other boys doing?"

"Well, the doctor said Kendall might be able to go home tomorrow."

"That's great."

"Yeah, only Kendall wasn't so happy about it. He is itching to get out of that bed, but he doesn't want to leave his friends." Antonio has to smile at that.

"Yeah, they always did have a strong bond like that."

"Yeah. James is doing okay as well, Brooke showed up today. She immediately started to demand for him to have his private room and the best doctor available. Even after James told her he's fine where he is."

Antonio slightly chuckles at this. "Typical Brooke Diamond."

"It really is. But she is doing it because she cares about him. Oh, Thomas showed up as well." This makes Antonio look up in surprise.

"Thomas? Thomas Mitchell?" Jen nods. "Wow, maybe he really is trying harder."

Jen sighs. "That's what I thought. But according to Kendall, he spoke to Logan for two seconds, called him Hortense, before his phone rang and he hasn't put it down since." Antonio shakes his head.

"I don't understand why he does that. I thought us talking to him after the boys went missing actually made a difference. I guess some people just don't change. Poor Logan."

"I know. But he's got us and the guys, of course. He'll be okay."

_A few hours later back in the ICU…_

After about an hour the doctor had come back from the ER with a smile on his face. Carlos had made it through and they had finally removed all the pieces of wood. His body could start to heal now.

Antonio was right by his bedside again, once he'd been settled back into the room.

He is smiling while he holds his hand. "You amaze me more and more everyday. I am so proud of you for fighting like this. I love you, son.."

It's night time in the hospital. And even though visiting hours are over, no one dared to force the officer to leave. So he remained right there, in the same spot, clutching that same hand, afraid to let go. Even when he fell asleep again, he didn't let go.

He is awoken again abruptly. But this time it's not the heart monitor going off. It a tiny movement felt in his hand. He shoots upright when he looks at his hand sees Carlos's fingers slowly, but surely move. H pushes the call button right away and then notices something he had been wishing for since the moment he arrived.

His eyes are scrunched up again, but he relaxes straight after. Then, his eyes flutter open. Antonio can't help but smile and cry at the same time when he looks in the brown warm pools of his own son. Finally, awake.

_Yeah, so a long chapter. I want to cut it up more, but then I would have had to have another cliffhanger with Carlos. I didn't want to do that again, so I kept on writing. Hope nobody minds ;)_

_Anyway, sorry if I keep skipping out on moments with the other guys, just more and more difficult to figure out how to continue with them. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!_

_Thank you for all the support and reviews, hope you liked this chapter as well._

_Until next time!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	23. Chapter 23 Phone Calls

Chapter 23 Phone calls

The moment right after Carlos opened his eyes, he squeezes them shut again. With as much strength he can muster, he grabs a hold of his sheets. Antonio quickly pushes the call button. A nurse runs in straight after.

"He's awake, but I think he's in pain. Can you give him something?" He pleads with the woman. She checks Carlos' vital signs and then rushes out of the room. She comes back in just as fast with a doctor this time.

He, too, checks Carlos' vital signs and then discusses something with the nurse. She immediately rushes out and comes back with a syringe. She puts it in the IV and soon, Antonio watches his son slowly relax. He keeps his eyes on him, smiling slightly when those brown eyes drowsily open up again.

They look straight into his and a hand slowly makes his way up to his face, to the tube in his throat.

"Hey, don't go pulling on that now. It's there to help you breathe. Don't worry, they'll take it out soon." The hand falls back onto the sheets and Antonio quickly grabs on to it, squeezing it to show his support. Then slowly, but surely, tears start to fall from his eyes. "I almost thought I was going to lose you… I'm so glad you're awake…" he says while sobbing. He puts his head on the sheet. Then he can feel his son's hand squeeze his tightly. He looks up and sees a small smile on his son's face. He smiles back, with tears of happiness flowing freely.

_Meanwhile…_

Kendall Knight is sitting up in his bed, scowling with his arms crossed. He occasioningly looks over to his left, where Logan Mitchell is lying down, staring at the ceiling.

To his right, James Diamond is combing his hair with the new comb his mother brought him, along with a new mirror.

Kendall sighs and looks at Logan again. "Logan, do you want me to talk to him?"

"No, its fine, Kendall, really."

"What do you mean, it's fine? He's your dad. He's hardly said a word to you, h's constantly on the phone. It's just not fair."

"I'm fine, Kendall. That's just the way it is, I've already accepted it."

"You shouldn't have to accept this. He shouldn't be treating you like this at all."

"Kendall, please don't get involved. I'm already glad he at least showed up. Let's just leave it at that."

"Just leave it like that? How can you.." Kendall is interrupted by his mother walking into the room with a big smile. All three boys turn to her and share confused looks at why she looks so happy. She opens her mouth to speak, but Katie beats her to it.

"Did you guys hear? Carlos woke up!" They all grin widely after hearing this.

"Does this mean we can go see him?" James asks hopefully.

"Not yet." Jennifer Knight answers. The boys' grins fade at once. "He's still healing, guys. They'll remove his breathing tube today, so he'll be able to talk again too. And the doctor said his vital signs look really good. If this keeps up, they might be able to move him into a regular room in a few days." Their smiles return.

"Will they move him in here?"

"The doctor didn't mention it, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"..No, Jake. I asked you to get those papers done today. We can't wait any longer. This house needs to be sold this week or I'll lose my commission." Thomas Mitchell suddenly enters the room, making all smiles fade once again. This time, because of Logan's hurt look. He doesn't even seem to notice he just killed the celebration in the room. "Just get the paperwork done!" He hangs up the phone, sighing deeply. "Wow, some people just don't seem to hold other people's feelings into consideration."

"Hm, imagine that." Kendall mutters.

"Kendall.." Mrs. Knight warns her son, who crosses his arms again. Just then, Mr. Mitchell's phone rings once again.

"Excuse me, I have to take this. Hello? Marty, how are you?" He says, his voice fading as he walks into the hallway. James and Mrs. Knight give Logan a sympathetic look, as Kendall just looks angry.

Mrs. Knight quickly walks into the hallway herself, crossing her arms as she stands behind Thomas Mitchell.

"…so, which house is that? Is that Avenue B? Okay, yeah.." he turns around and suddenly notices Jennifer Knight glaring at him. "Uh, Marty? I'm going to have to call you back." He says and he hangs up the phone. "Hey Jen. What's going on?"

"What are you doing?" She asks him, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible.

"What do you mean?" His phone rings again, making her sigh.

"That. Your phone is always ringing and you always pick it up."

"I'm a business man, I'm busy. I can't help it. I'm trying to make a living for Logan and I."

"Really? So you're doing this for Logan, too?"

"Yes, of course I am. I care about him and I just want him to have the best life possible."

She laughs at that. "You're kidding me, right? You actually think you're making him happy by ignoring him?"

"Ignoring him, what are you talking about?"

"Ever since you came here, you've been on the phone non-stop. You've hardly said two words to your own son who could have died, Thom. You almost lost him, but all you care about is that stupid phone. Just look at him in there. He is absolutely miserable. And not because he feels sick, but because the one person he wanted to see doesn't seem to care about him at all."

"That is crazy, Jen, I do care about him."

"Then why can't you show him that?"

"I'm doing the best I can."

"You can't mean that…"

"look, you don't know how hard it is. Ever since Anna died, I just don't know what to do anymore. She was the one who always understood him, she knew exactly what to do…"

"Thom…" Jennifer sighs. "You are not alone in this. Antonio and I are single parents too. You could have asked us for help. Do you really think it's been easy for us? Of course it hasn't. But we can help each other through it. I know you were never that close to Logan, but he needs you right now. You have to stop pushing him away."

"Jen, I appreciate your help. But things just aren't so easy for me. I see you with your kids and Antonio, too. You guys have already bonded with your kids, it comes naturally to you. I'm not good with kids like that. I don't know how to act around him."

"You could at least try. He's in there, pretending everything is fine, while this is eating him up inside. We're all there for him, but you're his family. You should be the one to support him. He cares.." She is interrupted by his phone going off once again. He looks at it. "Thom, don't do this. Just go talk to your son." He takes another look at the screen.

"Thanks for the advice, Jen. But I really have to take this." She sighs and shakes her head as he picks up the phone and starts to ramble on again. She slowly walks into the hospital room again.

Kendall and James look at her with hope. She sadly shakes her head. Kendall punches his matrass, while James sighs and picks up his mirror again. Jennifer heads for Logan, who is fumbling with the sheet, eyes cast down. She puts a hand on his back and quielt sits down next to him.

"I'm sorry, sweetie."

"It's okay Mrs. Knight, thank you for trying, though." He replies without looking up.

"I just wish he would see what I see when I look at you. I see a beautiful, very bright teenager full of life. I am so proud of you, Logan. Any parent should be lucky to have you."

He tries to smile, but he can't fully pull it off. "I just wish my dad would see that."

"Oh, sweetie." She says and softly kisses his head. "I know things aren't easy right now. But just remember, you're not alone. You've got a family right here in this room and some others in the ICU. You can always count on us."

"Thanks, Mrs. Knight." She carefully pulls him into a loving hug, before pulling away again. Just then Katie pulls him into another hug.

"You'll always have us, Logie." He smiles, hearing the nickname his friends gave him. He swallows hard as he thinks of the missing friend still in the ICU.

"Thanks, Katie." He nearly whispers.

"Awww." Is simultaneously heard throughout the room by Kendall and James, who burst out laughing right afterwards. Logan scowls and picks up a pillow, flinging it towards Kendall.

"Shut up." He says, but a smile appears on his face nonetheless. Katie and Mrs. Knight stand by and watch at the friends interacting again, things are finally going back to normal. Pretty soon, Carlos will move in and the craziness can really begin…

_Hi! So, things are looking up for everyone. Well, except for Logan then, with his dad and all. But things can't be perfect, right?_

_Anyway, hope you like the chapter, even though it's a lot shorter than the last one. A full reunion is coming up, so be on the lookout!_

_Until next time, read and review like other times; I love reading them, they keep me motivated _

_Love, Baxxie_


	24. Chapter 24 Moving Out

Chapter 24 Moving Out

The next morning Kendall is slowly getting dressed. The doctors allowed him to leave, but the moment he's ready, he just goes to sit in a chair by Logan's bedside.

"Kendall, the point of the doctors telling you can go home, is you should actually go home." Kendall just smiles and puts his legs up on Logan's bed before grabbing the TV remote and changing the channel to Spongebob Squarepants. Logan rolls his eyes at him.

"Guys, do you think my hair looks okay?" James suddenly asks from the other side of the room. The other guys share a look, before grinning and Kendall throws a pillow. It hits James in the head. "Hey!" He then picks up a pillow and throws it back. Kendall ducks right away, making the pillow hit Logan. Kendall laughs, along with James.

"Oh, you're going down!" Logan growls as he goes to pick up a pillow as well.

Then they are jolted out of their fun by two nurses who start to move the middle bed out of the room.

"Hey, what's going on? Where are you taking that?"

"We have to make room for the new patient." One nurse replies. The guys share anxious looks.

"Wait, what?" Kendall shouts and he quickly rushes after them. "What new patient? Shouldn't we get a say in this?"

"I'm sorry, it's already been decided on. Excuse us." The say and make Kendall move out of the way.

"But.." He puts up his hands in defeat and walks back to his friends.

"So now we have to share the room with some total stranger? Quick, Kendall, help move my bed to the middle." James asks in a slight panic.

"Why?"

"Because that stranger is going to be moved right between us. I don't want to be alone over here."

"James, we're still in the room."

"Yeah, but you're really far away." He pouts. His friends roll their eyes and chuckle a little.

"So, are you boys ready to meet your new roomie?" Mrs. Knight suddenly asks as she steps in with a big smile.

"Uh, no." Kendall tells her and all three boys glare at her. She raises her eyebrows.

"Okay, but he'll be really disappointed when he hears that." She steps ut of the way when nurses push in a hospital bed. The boys refuse to look and continue to glare. A doctor walks in as well and helps the nurses hook up the new patient to the machines surrounding the bed.

"Now we'll leave you alone, I'm sure you have a lot to talk about." The doctor tells them.

"Not likely." Kendall huffs.

Logan's eyes widen when he finally looks at the new patient. He pokes Kendall.

"Hey, stop that!" But Logan keeps going.

"Kendall, you really should look.." James says and Kendall thinks he hears a smile in his voice.

"Why in the world would I want to look?" He says with an angry voice. "What, Logan?" He looks at Logan, who immediately stops poking him. Instead there's a big smile on his face as he stares at the bed next to him. Kendall finally turns around and gasps.

"Carlos!" he says with a loud cheer. He jumps up and runs towards his friend, ready to give him a big hug.

"Whoa, Kendall, slow down. Remember, he had surgery. You can't hug him right now." Mr. Garcia announces from the doorway. Kendall smiles as he sees a small pout on Carlos' face, even with the breathing mask on.

"Sorry buddy, maybe next time." Carlos slowly nods as he breaths in and out deeply. "How are you feeling?"

Carlos slowly moves up his arm to remove the breathing mask. His father clears his throat from the doorway, making him lay his arm back down again. The guys chuckle when they hear him grumble inside the facemask.

"I'm really glad you're here. We really missed you." Kendall tells him.

"Yeah, it's been really boring here without your craziness." James agrees.

"Well, except for the moments James was high on the pain meds. That was pretty crazy." Logan says with a chuckle.

Carlos seems to grin and he tries to turn his head towards James.

"I was not high." James says in a quiet voice.

"Yes you were." Logan and Kendall reply in unison. It makes Carlos chuckle and the guys smile at hearing that noise again. But their faces quickly turn worried when his eyes squeeze shut and his hand grabs his abdomen. His breathing is heavier.

"Carlos?" Kendall worriedly asks.

"I'm sorry, we shouldn't have made you laugh like that." Logan adds.

"There's a pain button right next to you. Just press that, it'll make you feel better, trust me." James adds.

Carlos' hand starts to move around on his right, but he's not opening his eyes just yet. Kendall quickly grabs his hand and guides it to the pain button, helping him press it gently.

His face slowly starts to relax again and his breathing goes back to normal as he slowly pushes the button. Finally, he opens his eyes and looks at Kendall with a look of gratitude.

Kendall just smiles at him. "Don't mention it. I still owe you, you know. For saving my life…" He quietly adds. Carlos puts up his hand, but Kendall gently grabs it and holds on to it. "I really am grateful, Carlos. And really sorry, too. You have no idea…" His voice starts to crack and he turns his head away as he can feel tears filling his eyes.

This time Carlos grabs his hand and squeezes it. Kendall turns to him and smiles through his tears. He squeezes back.

The other people in the room smile as well at the affectionate display between the two brothers.

"Okay, enough emotional mumbo-jumbo. How about we just watch some Spongebob?" Kendall suggests and he goes to grab the remote from Logan, who already switched off the TV. Kendall quickly hurries back to sit with Carlos now and turns the TV to Spongebob again. "Oh, I love this episode, don't you?" he turns to his friend and smiles when he finds him fast asleep.

"Great, Kendall. You already wore him out. We wanted to talk to him, too." James offensively tells him. Kendall grins, grabs a fallen pillow from the floor and throws it into his face. James laughs funny, then his face switches to war as he picks up the pillow and throws it back.

Kendall wants to duck, but then suddenly remembers Carlos behind him. He quickly catches the pillow before it hits his friend. He holds his breath as he watches if he woke him up. He lets it out, as Carlos doesn't even twitch.

He looks back at James, who grins sheepishly. "Hey, you're the one that started it." Kendall looks at the pillow in his hands, before getting an evil grin. "Kendall, what are you planning? Kendall?" Then he lets out a girlish shriek when Kendall runs up to him, smacking him in the face with the pillow. He quickly grabs his own pillow and starts to fight him back.

"Guys.." Logan starts. "Guys, stop, we're in the hospital." No response. He sighs. "Carlos is sleeping, you'll wake him up." All three boys look at their friend, who is still sleeping soundlessly. Kendall and James immediately go back to their pillowfight. "Ugh, I gotta get new friends…" Logan complains, keeping his eye on the sleeping boy in the bed next to him. He squints a little when he thinks he sees a small smile appearing on his friend's face.

And it really is there. Carlos may be sleeping, but he has heard some of the commotion going on next to him. He's just too tired to open his eyes. He smiles as things are finally going back to the way they were. Yes, they got hurt and it was horrible, but they're no longer fighting. They're finally friends again. And he knows, once they all get out, they can final be a band again.

_I'm sorry; this story really is not going on much longer. Because I really don't know what to write anymore. I think maybe one or two more chapters might follow and then it's really over. _

_I just want to thank you again for all your support and I hope you've enjoyed this story. Feel free to send me ideas if you do know what could happen. But honestly, there will probably be no more angst in here, just drama and fluff and plain old craziness ;)_

_Until the next chapter and hope to hear from you!_

_Love, Baxxie_


	25. Chapter 25 Welcome back

Chapter 25 Welcome back

"So, Carlitos. Are you ready to get out of here?"

Carlos looks up from his hospital bed, where he's already sitting fully clothed. He grins widely as he watches James hop into the room on his crutches.

"God yes. I just want to go home and sleep in my own bed again." James smiles back.

"Okay, Carlos, let's go home." Kendall says as he walks into the room with Logan in tow, pushing a wheelchair.

"Uh, what is that?" Carlos asks, pointing at the wheelchair.

"This is what they call a wheelchair. It's used to transport people who can't or are not allowed to walk on their own." Carlos glares at his smart friend.

"Yes, thank you, Logan. But I can walk perfectly fine on my own." Logan and Kendall exchange looks.

"Right. Just sit in the chair, buddy." Kendall tells him and he walks towards him, ready to help him get up. Carlos holds up a hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you stand up and sit in the wheelchair."

"I don't need any help, Kendall. I'm fine now, why else would they let me leave?"

"Just because you're well enough to leave the hospital, doesn't mean you're fine."

"Well, I feel fine, Logan. So, I can walk out all by myself. Why don't you give James the wheelchair, he looks tired leaning on those crutches."

"Hey!" James protests.

"Okay, fine. If you think you can handle it, let's go." Kendall says as he steps aside holding up his hands.

"Uh, Kendall, I don't think this is such a good idea." Logan quietly mentions to is friend.

"I know, Logan. But he's stubborn. He needs to find out just how wrong he is. So if he wants to walk out, I say let him."

"He'll never make it to the parking lot." Kendall chuckles.

"He'll never even make it out of the room, Logan. You give him too much credit." Logan looks worried.

"This is a really bad idea."

"Let's just watch. We're right here."

They watch as Carlos slowly starts to get off the bed. The moment he puts his feet on the floor, he nearly falls over. Logan wants to walk over, but Kendall puts a hand on his chest to stop him.

Again they stare with worried glances at their friend who is trying his hardest not to show the pain he's feeling as he slowly starts to move. He keeps one hand on the bed as he tries to stand up straight and make his way to the door. His breathing has become heavier, but he is still too stubborn to admit it.

"Carlos, just come sit down. It doesn't make you any less cool." James tells him.

"I'm fine, just give me a minute." All three boys sigh and Kendall shakes his head. He moves very slowly and stands up straight, letting go of the bed now. "See, I'm fine." He says with a smile.

"Carlos, you're still standing next to the bed. The door is way over here." Logan hits Kendall with a glare as he just grabs his chest with a wince. "What?" Logan just shakes his head.

"I-I know that. I'm walking over right now, see?" He says with a smile as he very slowly starts to walk. The guys can see his breathing getting more difficult as he tries to move. He blinks faster and even bites his lip now and again, showing them he is still in pain.

"Carlos…" Kendall starts this time.

"I can do this.." He replies, panting. He moves again, but suddenly grabs his stomach and tries his best not to cry out. He wants to move again, but hisses at the movement. He nearly falls to the floor, but Kendall catches him before he can.

"So, are you finally done proving yourself?" He asks with concern laced through his voice. Carlos looks up at him and then gives a small embarrassed smile and nods. He gently helps his friend up and guides him towards the wheelchair. He lets out a long breath when he finally sits down in the chair.

"You okay?" Logan worriedly asks.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Let's just go home." Carlos quietly tells them with a smile.

Then suddenly Logan slaps the back of his head.

"Ow, Logan. What was that for?"

"Idiot. You don't need to act cool around us. When you're in pain, just tell us! Every time you do this, you are so stubborn.." Carlos sighs as Logan drags on and on while pushing his wheelchair, while James and Kendall just chuckle behind them.

"Well, we're here." Kendall says as he pushes the wheelchair towards their home. Carlos breathes in deeply.

"Ah, the Palmwoods. I've missed this place."

"…and stay out! Rotten teens, always messing up my lobby.."

"Hey, Mr. Bitters!" He shouts with a small wave and big smile.

"Oh no, you four are complete again? But it was so quiet around here. I'm going to hire more security guards." He grumbles.

"Aww, I missed you too, Bitters." The other guys chuckle.

"Come on, Carlitos, let's head to the pool."

"Wait, we're not going to the apartment?"

"Not yet. Don't you want to see the pool again?" James asks him.

"Well yeah, but it's not fun when I can't jump into it.." He pouts. Kendall laughs from behind the wheelchair.

"You'll be fine, buddy. There's plenty of things to do at the pool without getting wet."

"Like what?" he asks in horror.

"You'll see." Kendall replies with a mischievous grin. The other guys share equal grins as Carlos looks around in fear.

"Guys? What does that mean? Guys?" They just grin and head for the Palmwoods pool. Carlos is still scared when they open the double doors.

"Surprise!" He jumps and screams a little at all the people yelling surprise at him.

"What's going on?" He looks around and sees familiar faces with big smiles on their faces. He looks further and sees a large sign hanging up, which says 'Welcome back, Carlos!' He then smiles widely. "You mean, this is all for me?"

"They really missed you." James tells him.

"Welcome back, Carlos." Camille and Jo tell him, each giving him a gentle hug. "It hasn't been the same here without you. The guys are really boring without you acting crazy."

"Hey!" The other guys shout in protest.

"Come on, Carlos, we'll show you the cake we got you." Camille says as she grabs the wheelchair from Kendall and starts to push him away.

"You know, you really don't have t push me, I can totally walk by myself." He starts to get up.

"Don't even think about it, Carlos!" Logan shouts from behind him. He quickly sits again and crosses his arms, grumbling under his breath.

"What was that?" Jo asks him.

"Nothing. Let's just go find that cake!" he says, his smile fully back. The girls just laugh and shake their heads. They start to walk again, when suddenly the Jennifers stop them. Carlos' mouth falls open when seeing them.

"What do you girls want?" Camille angrily asks them.

"We just want to say…" One starts.

"that even though we always thought it was annoying the way you followed us around everywhere…" Number two goes on.

"we were really worried about you and…" Number three adds.

"We missed you." The three say in unison before giving him a kiss on the cheek and walking away again.

Camille and Jo chuckle as Carlos doesn't say a word. He just has his eyes closed and a weird grin on his face.

"Uh, Carlos? Are you okay?" Camille asks.

"Yeah…" he breathes out dreamily, opening his eyes slowly.

"Come on, lover boy, let's get you that cake."

The party goes on for a few more hours, Carlos getting all the attention he always wanted from everyone there. But the guys decide the party is over when they see their friend yawn for the fifth time in half an hour.

"Come on, Carlitos, you've had enough excitement for one day." His dad tells him as he grabs his wheelchair and starts to push him inside.

"Aw, but dad… I can.." He is interrupted by his own yawn. "Sorry.. Maybe I am a little tired." His dad just smiles and pushes him towards the elevators. The guys follow quickly.

Back at the apartment, Antonio Garcia helps his son into bed, with a lot of protesting from his side. When he's finally in bed, the guys come in.

"Okay, I'll be in the living room. So if you need anything.."

"I'm fine, dad."

"Alright then, goodnight son." He tells him and kisses his forehead. Carlos groans and wipes it off.

"Dad…" Antonio just chuckles and walks out.

Carlos looks up at his friends, who are grinning at him strangely.

"What?"

"That was such a cute moment.." Kendall says, dramatically wiping a fake tear away.

"Oh, shut up." Carlos says as he flings a pillow towards his friend. All three guys just laugh out loud.

Then Carlos yawns again.

"Well, we better go to our own room, so you can sleep. Come on, Kendall." Logan states as he gets up to leave.

"No, wait." He stops and turns around. "Maybe we can sleep here tonight." Kendall suggests.

"I think we should just let Carlos catch some sleep."

"Yeah, but it'll be fun. Come on, Logan, don't you remember our sleepovers in Minnesota?"

"Yes, I do, so like I said, Carlos needs to sleep."

"It's okay, Logie, I'd really like it if you guys stayed." Kendall breathes a sigh of relief as Carlos agrees with him.

"Great. Let's go get our stuff, Logan."

"I thought you were tired?" James asks as soon as the other two leave the room.

"I am, but Kendall needs this. He hasn't left our sides since the trip. I think he might be scared of losing us." Carlos tells him. James is somewhat amazed that Carlos picked up on that, he hadn't even noticed. But looking back, Kendall really did nearly panic every time one of them left the room. And Carlos did seem to pick up quickly on the others feelings.

Pretty soon all four guys are in the room. Carlos and James in their own beds and Logan and Kendall in sleeping bags on the floor.

"Wow, this brings back a lot of memories."

"Yeah, it does. I remember one sleepover where James woke up with different hair." Carlos says.

"I remember that one and I still don't find it funny!" James grumbles.

"Oh come on, James. I thought you completely rocked that purple hair."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore! That was a bad day…" The other guys burst out laughing.

"Ow, stop, you're making my stomach hurt…" Carlos says in between laughs, making the other guys stop right away.

"Are you okay, Carlos?"

"Do you want me to get your painkillers?"

"I'm fine, guys, really." They're all quiet. "I'm really glad to be back here with you guys. There was a time I really didn't think it would happen again." Nobody responds. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin our sleepover."

"I was really scared. I thought we were going to lose you." James quietly says.

"We almost did, twice." Kendall reminds him.

"What do you mean?" Carlos asks them.

"They lost you twice the day they found us."

"They lost me?"

"You died, Carlos.." Carlos grows quiet as Kendall goes on. "I broke down, I couldn't imagine having to go on with just the three of us. It just wouldn't be the same. I'm really glad you're okay. All three of you. I don't know what I would have done if one of you.." He doesn't continue.

"But we didn't. We're all still here, Kendall. We're all okay." Logan reminds him.

"Speak for yourself. I died, twice?" Carlos suddenly mentions.

"Can we please not talk about that anymore? I've had enough nightmares about it." James tells them.

"Sorry James.. I didn't know I put you guys through so much…"

"Yeah, well, you're okay now. So let's just forget it ever happened."

"So, I got kissed by the Jennifers today. All three of them. At the same time."

"We know, Carlos. We saw you." Logan reminds him.

"And you've told us like five times already." Kendall adds.

"They said they missed me."

"Carlos, they missed you because you're the only guy who keeps following them around all day. They missed you stalking them." James says.

"Yeah well, they still missed me. And kissed me." The other guys groan and each throw a pillow at their friend. "Whatever. You're just jealous." They all laugh at this.

"I got some good news too." Logan quietly says.

"What is it, Logan?"

"I talked to my dad today and he says he's going to try and spend more time with me."

"He's said that before." Kendall huffs.

"Yes, maybe. But he says he's really sorry and he's even looking for an assistant to help him out with all his phone calls. He's coming to stay in LA next week and he's promised we're going to spend all week together. He's cancelled all his appointments."

"That sounds great, Logie." Carlos tells him.

"Yeah, I'm really happy for you too. I guess my mom talking to him did have an effect." Kendall tells him.

"I think it also has something to do with Carlos' dad handcuffing him to a chair and forcing him to give up his phone. After that, he threatened to lock him up into a real police cell with real criminals if he didn't try harder as a dad." They all laugh out loud.

"Yeah, I guess my dad needs to take sensitivity training once again." Carlos chuckles.

"How many times has it been now? Ten?" James asks.

"Fifteen actually." The guys burst out laughing again.

"Speaking of anger management issues; Do you guys think Gustavo will try to get us into the studio now that were all out of the hospital?"

"I'll bet he's already planned a rehearsal for tomorrow, but Kelly is keeping him from calling us." They all laugh at this as they imagine a screaming Gustavo and Kelly rolling her eyes and putting headphones on her ears.

"I can't wait to go back to rehearsals. I wouldn't mind things to be normal again." James tells them.

"Yeah, especially now that we're not fighting anymore." They all smile a little at Carlos' statement.

"I guess that camping trip was good for something then, huh?" Kendall adds. They chuckle.

"Maybe next time Gustavo wants to give us time off, we could go camping again!" Carlos excitedly says.

"No!" The others shout in unison. Carlos shrinks back into his bed.

"I was just suggesting it."

"Sorry, Carlos. But next time we get time off, we should just ask for Griffin's beach house again. Some nice sun, surfing, now that is relaxing." James says, putting his hands under his head and smiling dreamily.

"Yeah, until you surf into a cliff." Kendall tells him.

"Hey! I am an excellent surfer."

"You almost drowned last time." Carlos reminds him.

"That was an accident. I lost my footing. And besides, I met a great girl through that experience."

"Who dumped you after you thought she was a mermaid." Kendall replies.

"That was an honest mistake. And I still got a kiss out of it."

"How would that make it better? You laid on the sand and thought you were turning into a mermaid yourself."

"Merman, Kendall. Men are called merman."

"I know." Another pillow fight is started, until Logan interrupts them.

"Uh, guys?" They stop and look at their friend, who points to a now peacefully sleeping Carlos.

"This isn't over, Kendall." James whispers. He is met by another pillow smacking him in the face and a quiet chuckle in the dark as Logan turns off the lights.

"Just go to sleep guys, you can kill each other in the morning."

"Fine. Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight."

"G'night.." Kendall closes off with a yawn.

"Goodnight Carlos." They whisper in unison.

"Goodnight Jennifer.." He dreamily replies. The guys have to fight back their laughter.

Yep, things were really back to normal…

_Well, there you have it. The story is really over now. I hope you all liked reading it as much as I loved writing it _

_Pretty soon I'll post a new story with lots of angst and drama again for all four boys. It's a lot darker than this one, but I hope you all like that. Plenty of whumpage anyway ;)_

_Thank you all for your support and I hope to see you all again for the next stories _

_Until next time!_

_Love, Baxxie_


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